Wicked Hearts
by Googala2
Summary: Madara is used to women fawning over him...so why is this one calling him an ass?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Summary: **Madara is used to woman falling over in sheer awe and delight when he walks into a room. So why is this woman calling him an ass? Well, not all women are so easily amused.

**Rated M for Language, adult situations, and darkness.**

**WARNING: Extreme Madara torture and evilness. This story is **_**all**_** about twisted humor.**

**Author's Note: FINALLY!!! After all this time I'm finally starting THIS story! Ku, ku, ku, ku. I've wanted to write this story for like a year or so now. Now I'm finally able to.**

**This story didn't just come to mind one day either. For some time, my friends and I have been creating OCs and coming up with ideas of how'd they react to meeting specific Naruto characters. My main OC creation happens to be the one in this story. I created her right after I learned about the Naruto character Madara. ALL MADARA FANS RAISE YOUR HANDS!!! *Jumping up and down with hands raised***

**In this story, I'll be twisting and prodding at a few details of what happened at this time period and making it into a story line that fits into another story that was written before this. It's called 'Haiku and Kola' by my friend Wildwhisker. 'Haiku and Kola' is actually a future based story that IS in fact founded very heavily on the events and characteristics of my OC's own experiences...for reasons you'll have to find out by reading "Haiku and Kola'.**

**Let the Madara torment begin!

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter 1: Prologue...**

_Deep in the Land of fire, one of the greatest shinobi clans, the Uchiha clan, conquered over many competitors using the unique ability of sharingon. The sharingon was told to be the eyes of the devil, the eyes of demons. Perhaps the legends were not so far from the truth. The clan was explicitly known for its powerful shinobi warriors and near unrivaled military status because of their eyes. Their only equals, were said to be the Senju._

_The Uchiha vanquished every rival clan that dared to stand against their might; they defeated all who stood before them. With the exception of the Senju, they were said to be unbeatable. They were feared across the Land of fire for their terrifying eye technique and ruthlessness in battle. It was a time of many bloody wars and the Uchiha clan was thriving off the carnage and spoils left behind in the rubble. This time of prosperity within the Uchiha was said to have been brought about solely by the iron fists of their new clan leader, Madara, and his younger brother, Izuna. They were said to be untouchable. True shinobi._

_Then, in the mist of all this chaos and turmoil, a new clan raised from the layers of ashes. The Sotaki they were called. The clan was a mystery in itself, for none outside the clan knew of its origins or its talents. Their leader too, was a faceless figure to the rest of the shinobi world. It was a small clan with little power and few warriors, so the Uchiha ignored the up starting clan as mere nuisances. At the time, the Uchiha were at war with another rival clan and couldn't waste their limited man power on unfounded suspicions of another clan's potential capabilities. As the Uchiha fought their many wars though, the Sotaki clan quickly became known across the shinobi world as a super power in itself. They became known for their mastery of intricate strategy and battle maneuvers. They too, earned the title of undefeatable in time._

_The Uchiha, their leader and his brother, soon realized the potential dangers of allowing such a clan to grow and thrive in the mists of their ever shrinking supply lines. With this in mind, Madara and Izuna declared war against them, with the Sotaki's unseen lands as the supposive motive behind the sudden decision. At the time, the Uchiha were running low on resources and the rest of the clan could not deny or question the motive any farther then how the Sotaki could be defeated quickest and with as few casualties as possible. Many of the Uchiha shinobi had their suspicions about the true intentions of the war though. It was not uncommon for higher ranking clans to destroy up starting clans that could prove a threat to them in the future. Little did they know, of the true extent of the Sotaki's military prowess.

* * *

_

**Author's Note**

**This is just a prologue so that you'll know what has happened leading up to where the story REALLY begins. The actual story is more entertaining I'd hope. Also, I need to know if people would actually be interested in reading a story like this. (What's the point of writing a story nobody wants to read...there isn't one that's what.)**

**If I do receive requests to continue this story, I'm just giving heads up that I don't know the FULL history of the Uchiha clan and/or the events that happened during this time in the Naruverse. Only what I know from reading fanfiction and other Naruto supporting sites.**

**I'VE NEVER READ THE MANGA or SEEN ANY SHIPUDDEN PAST EPISODE 21.**

**Please Review to request the continuation of this story...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: Yayzits! So you do wuv my story prologue after all. Now that that's settled. Let's get moving on with this chapter. FORWARD and MARCH!!!

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Two: A True Headache...**

Madara rubbed circular motions at the corners of his thin, dark brows as to tame the raging headache that was haunting the hours of his stressed tensions. A darkened expression shadowed over his deadly sharp features when thoughts of his current headache provoker filled him with loathing.

He obviously was not in a good mood.

For days now he had had a fowl temper that would have given any PMSing woman a run for their money.

Refusing to take the food offered to him by the Uchiha women who were concern for his health, and rarely drinking from the water that was always left at the side of his desk top at all times.

He would not eat. Nor drink.

Could not bring himself to eat or drink. For even when he did, his anger would always unsettle his stomach and leave him with yet more problems then he had to begin with.

If that was even possible in his mind.

A hardened frown sternly made its way to Madara's lips. The Sotaki were clever, very clever, and cowardly, but clever nonetheless. Madara felt his fist tightening in rage, the brims of his knuckles turning a pale, ghostly white as his force pushed the blood from his fingers mercilessly. No, not cowardly. All is fare in times of war.

Particularly shinobi wars.

But he, like so many others, hated to be outsmarted. Especially not by his enemies. He knew instinctually that he was merely labeling them thus so that he could keep his dignity, his tightly reigned pride.

But then, most Uchiha men seemed to have this problem. Since the beginning of the Uchiha clan history this has been a problem, if still at times a blessing.

So apparently Madara, no matter how great a warrior or shinobi, is also no exception to this characteristic trait.

Madara looked begrudgingly to the reports on his desk, the beginnings of what could have been called a sneer on the tip of his lip corner. They were very clever indeed.

_**Status report from the eastern lines, July 13 sundown:**_

_Sunrise July 12: The Sotaki forces have broken through the eastern barricades with 300 soldiers engaging in battle at the heart of the fort complex. Over the course of two days 110 troops have been killed during the power struggle within the compound and the survivors are moving to the northern most posts to negotiate settling arrangements with the troops there._

_The Sotaki's main force's last know direction was south-west with an attack force of 500. It is believed that the Sotaki leader is planning a frontal attack on the southern lines, where you are currently situated from previous reports._

_It has been rumored that the Sotaki leader is currently making secret negotiations with the supply lines of the northern posts. Waiting for reply._

_Eastern posts have been captured._

The Sotaki shinobi had managed to break though the eastern lines undetected. But he had already known this. It was difficult yes, but not an impossible feat for a skilled ninja. That was a simple fact that any general, captain, or leader unable to see it right away, should give up his position to someone much more capable in the roll of insuring the safety of his men.

Madara, no matter how prideful or hard-headed, would defiantly feel obliged to step down from his position of power and hand the duties over to his younger brother Izuna until he had his act in order should he have missed this detail.

It was better to lose your position at the top for a while than to lose your whole clan.

Still, even with this understanding, Madara didn't want to lose to this man. The Sotaki leader. His eyes slimmed at the piece of paper in his hands.

What was he missing?

Madara frowned in frustration and let the tense muscles in his neck loosen, but he nonetheless read the next report despite his growing aggravation.

_**Status report from the western lines, July 15 sundown:**_

_Midday July 15: The Sotaki have cut off our supply lines to the western forts and are currently attacking all sides of our fort. They are 100 in number. Requesting supplies and backup from the southern posts._

_The rumors of an attack on the northern supply lines was discovered to have been information implanted by a spy that had infiltrated the eastern forts. Waiting for farther instructions to act._

He knew that the enemy spy had allowed the Sotaki troops easy access to the eastern forts, but that wasn't what he was missing. There was something more. Much more.

From reading the reports, he was getting that instinctive vibe that something was wrong.

That was simply how the Sotaki leader was. Always finding ways to make his opponent work harder. He also knew that the Sotaki were using the Uchiha's low resources to their advantage. But that wasn't what he was missing either. His jaw muscle twitched in annoyance.

There was something deeper to this than just random attacks on his military forces. He had grown too accustom to the Sotaki leader's ways to think otherwise. The Sotaki leader was not just another enemy in Madara's eyes. He was as much of a genius as he himself was a threat.

A dangerous combination.

It had not taken the Uchiha leader long to realize that, the Sotaki leader, _**loved**_ to play mind games with his opponents.

And Madara was already under pressure because of it.

_**Status report from the northern lines, July 15 midnight**_

_We are receiving the survivors of the eastern posts about 100 strong. Our supply lines are at a low and our forces are in need of supplies. Requesting assistance backup._

_Rumor has been spread that some of the surviving soldiers from the eastern fort are undercover shinobi from the Sotaki clan that have taken Uchiha shinobi form. Waiting for orders to pursue farther._

_It has also been reported, that among the new arrivals, it is strongly believed that our supply lines are being targeted by the Sotaki._

Madara let his eyes close in exhaustion and set the reports back down on the desk. This person...was simply impossible. No one had ever given him this much trouble.

For three days now, he had been reading over these documents repetitively. Looking for the clues he had missed.

Madara laced his fingers under his chin and crossed one leg over the other. A pose he had grow quite fawned of over the years, but also a sure sign of his mounting irritation.

So, Madara scanned over the reports once again, the Sotaki planned to spread chaos and confusion among his troops using tactics of false rumors to ensure indecisiveness. Leaving his forces open to attack. In response to this weakness, their forces are working on ripping the northern and southern lines apart as to cut off most communication between them.

To do this the Sotaki have been working on the eastern and western lines, as to come between the southern and northern forts. Even if that was their plan though, Madara ran his hand through his unruly spikes; they would only be succeeding on reaching his main forces at the center of the outer posts. Perhaps the Sotaki were unaware of his forces situated at the center.

No. The Sotaki leader was not so naive as to think the great Uchiha forces were limited to a few lonely forts surrounding its lands. There was simply no way the Sotaki leader couldn't know.

But still. Why else would the Sotaki threaten the supply lines of the northern posts, if not to draw his soldier away from the western lines in aid of the northern?

What was he missing!?

The Sotaki leader had a thing for leading his opponents around by the nose. Always hanging that little piece of meat out and waiting for that certain someone he was teasing to bite. Oh how temped Madara was to take it.

Unfortunately, it was out of sight. Hidden among the words upon the paper before him.

So the eastern fort has been taken, Madara pondered to himself silently, and the western lines are under siege. Madara's eyes narrowed suspiciously. What was his intentions if not to separate the northern and southern forts?

The sound of knocking reached Madara's sensitive ears. "Enter." Madara was most defiantly in a fowl mood to be losing his composure in such a manner.

Without farther ado, a young Uchiha shinobi entered the office and bowed lowly to his enraged leader. "Madara-sama, I bring news of the northern lines." Madara did not miss the way the young soldier had chosen to word himself.

"Speak." Madara's eyes slimmed dangerously as his long bangs ruffled lightly around his face. His anger at the moment was not something many would wish to face.

His wrath was legendary.

The young shinobi did not hesitate in response. "A message has been sent from the Sotaki leader." Madara raised an eyebrow at this. What? A message, from the Sotaki leader. "It was brought here by messenger hawk from the northern posts."

What!

Madara's eyes flashed blood red from the shadows of his bangs. "Give it to me." Too quiet Madara's tone had been. The young Shinobi tensed at its iciness, but nonetheless pulled a small package from his pocket.

The young shinobi placed the package on the desk before his leader and stood to the side awaiting farther orders. One chilling glance from his leader was enough to make him reconsider his options though. He bent into a low bow before exiting the office as promptly as possible.

Madara watched the young shinobi leave intently, before turning his attention to the small box that had been placed carefully on his desk. His brow twitched slightly. Unnoticeably.

What was this? Some kind of scandal!?

Neon pink paper, littered with tiny rips and recent stains, and a dark green piece of yarn holding the disgraceful thing together. Was the Sotaki leader mocking him?

This was an insult. An outrage.

Madara glowered silently at the small package, his blood red eyes blazing at the very sight of the thing. It would undoubtedly bring forth more frustration at the Sotaki leader's provocation.

He prepared himself for the anger he knew would come. It always did.

Smoothly, if a bit hesitantly, Madara reached for the small box with his pale fingers. The thing was about the size of his hand, a bit bigger perhaps, but small nonetheless.

It was heavier than Madara had at first expected. There was obviously something other then a message within it. He had suspected as much.

Madara raised an eyebrow at it. He could sense that it was not dangerous. Still, his eyes remained guarded. This was his enemy he was dealing with. An enemy he still knew too little about to get careless.

"Izuna!" Madara beckoned to his younger brother as he placed the small package back onto the desk, knowing full well that he was just outside his office door.

"You called?" Izuna mock questioned Madara with a small smirk, obviously very amused by his brother's unusual frustration. Which in itself was a rare occurrence.

He would not let the opportunity to mess with his elder brother pass him by. It was priceless.

"Enough of your games Izuna." Madara gave his brother a low and irritated command, though Izuna merely raised his eyebrows at his brother. Taunting him with an innocent smile.

"I am unaware of these _games_ of which you speak." Izuna seated himself on the edge of his brother's desk, inspecting turning the neglected glass of water beside him. "Such a waste." Izuna commented lifting the full glass.

A dark look crossed Madara's features, but Izuna merely put the glass back in its original position and crossed his legs to the side of the desk.

"You seem stressed." Izuna stated with a raised eyebrow. He knew he should stop, but...

This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Izuna..." That tone. Izuna straightened up immediately and turned a serious look towards his brother. Perhaps he should stop while he was still breathing.

That sounded like a good idea.

Izuna got off the desk top and walked behind the desk to stand beside his brother. A gesture of the upmost seriousness.

"I assume this is about the package you received." Madara merely grunted in response, a sure sign his ruffled feathers were settled now.

Izuna eyed the small box inquisitively, but withheld any comments for the moment. The sight of his brother staring so intently at the thing was enough entertainment for him.

"Well..." Izuna laughed pleasantly after a long while. "...at least he has style."

Madara didn't find the statement so funny. The glower he turned towards his younger brother said that much.

So much for soothing his brother's irritation. Izuna knew he'd pay for this later.

"Anyway..." Izuna laughed again."...opening it would seem the wisest and most logical course of action." That had hit a nerve, and Izuna knew it too.

"Well." Madara lightly said with his hardening glare burning an invisible hole through Izuna's skull. "Why don't you open it then?" That made Izuna smirk a bit. His elder brother was so easily manipulated when one knew how to play the _game_.

Izuna shrugged his shoulders a bit, but reached out for the package nonetheless. This would be interesting.

First he started with the string, leisurely untying the triple knot. Madara's patience wasn't going to last for much longer.

Then, Madara's scandalizing younger brother thought it necessary to untie the remaining knots from the already detached string. Madara knew where this was going.

At a loss for patience, Madara snatched the package from his brother's hands and all but tore the infernal wrapping from the box's white surface. To prove a point.

Well...at least the plain white inner box didn't invoke anymore wrath from the Uchiha leader.

Izuna raised an eyebrow at his brother's actions, but knew better then to crack any other jokes at this stage. Madara was not in a pleasant mood.

Madara looked the box over once before reaching for the lid. He did not particularly like the idea of opening the thing, but there would be no getting anywhere otherwise.

Even Izuna's jaw dropped a few inches at the contents.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Yeahz-adoodle-doo! Second chapter is done and I'm loving life and fuzzy bunnies. I wonder though, what was in the box...WELL HICKERY STICKS ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, POTATOE CHIPS, AND SUNNY DELIGHT!!! Hey, that rhymes. Anyway duckies, I know what's in there and you don't get to find out till I finish the next chapter. Cuz I'm just sinister and sly that way. =^.^=**

**I will rip your cookie jars from your coverts and feed it to the moo-moo cows!!! Please review...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: Hello kitty dums! I have come to the final conclusion that the people reading this story do in fact like it because I am now on the third chapter...That is a good thing. ^_^

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Three: In the Light of Things...**

_To whom I'm addressing,_

_I can't remember your name at the moment Uchiha leader and I don't feel obliged to ask the Dick's insight on the matter of your name either. My reasons for this letter and my lack of respect for you is simple...Your incompetence is unbounded, you're men in need of leadership, and you can't read simple directions. These aspects to your skills as a leader irritate me the most and I do not appreciate your absence on the front. Please don't try my patience. The Dick gives me enough grief as is._

_Anyway, the elders of my clan have requested a meeting with you and your counsel. It will be held at the Weeping Meadows tomorrow midnight sharp. With or without you._

_P.S: You never replied back you basterd._

_-Sotaki Muki_

Sotaki Muki...

Replied back? What was that suppose to mean?

Madara's blood crimson eyes narrowed murderously at the small piece of paper within his tightening grasp. Only one word came to mind.

Slaughter...

Shaking. Madara was shaking with rage. What right did this man...no...this woman have insulting him in such a manner.

It was absurd.

Izuna read over the letter once more, his eyebrows raised high and his mouth struggling to remain impassive as he read and reread the message as many times as possible. Though he was failing miserably at suppressing his soft snorts of laughter.

He did not want to forget this.

This woman, Muki. She truly did have a sense of humor...

Or she was just brutally honest. Either way. The look on Madara's face was priceless.

"So I see you have an admirer dear brother." Izuna knew he shouldn't be pushing the matter any farther, but lets be honest.

A chance to aggravate Madara like this...

Comes around once in a lifetime.

And Izuna was loving ever waking second of it.

Madara remained silent, unable to trust his own tongue. For should he begin expressing his thought on the matter, there was no telling what would happen.

Izuna noticed yet more amusement to be found within the box. "What's this now?" Izuna good naturedly inquired, once again sneaking a peek into the open box.

A map...with a note attached to it.

Izuna snatched the note from the box before Madara had thought to do so. He wanted to read the words of this _fascinating_ woman before they were ripped to pieces and burned to ashes. Like the letter his elder brother was currently holding was fated to be.

Izuna scanned over the note, and smirked at it lightly before he began. "Uchiha Leader..." Izuna paused briefly to watch his brother's reaction. "It has come to my attention that you lack all directional skills. So I ask for the one known as Izuna to translate this map for you."

Madara's brow twitched ever so slightly and Izuna was about ready to fall out of his chair in laughter. Wonderful. This woman was something else.

Something flashed dimly in the box as the candle light flickered over it, immediately grabbing Izuna's and Madara's attention. They looked to one another, both understanding what the other was thinking.

Izuna launched at the box, intent on snatching the unknown object before his brother could. His elder brother though, was closer.

Izuna stared at the object now in his brother's hand, his solid black eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in seeming shock.

Madara immediately released it after finding no significance in it, beginning to dislike the softness of it. Letting it fall to the table top with a soft, near soundless thud.

What the _HELL_ was that? Madara turned an inspecting glance down at it. Glaring at it with great suspicion.

Izuna began to shake, his shoulders tense from his restrained laughter. Needless to say, the composure didn't last long.

For the first time he could recall, Izuna hit the floor in laughter. Tears of bliss began to fall from his eyes freely as he curled into a small ball, uncharacteristically clutching his gut in pain.

Laughing cramps.

Madara turned away from the object and gave his brother a small frown, but the extent of this younger brother's laughter was making him edgy. Izuna had never done that before.

"What is this?" Madara demanded to know.

Izuna slowly got to his feet, still fighting off the last fits of laughter as he rose to his full height. He came up to his brother and placed a brotherly arm around his shoulders. "I'll tell you when you're older." Izuna taunted as he snatched the soft object from the desk and stashed it into his pocket to dispose of later. "Trust me, you _don't _needit."

He would _**not**_ have his elder brother walking around with that _**thing**_ in his possession. Even Izuna couldn't allow such treachery to befall his older brother.

This woman truly had a sense of humor. For there to be any hope for the Uchiha clan though, he knew his brother must not know of this transgression...yet.

Still. It was very thoughtful of the Sotaki leader, even if she had misinterpreted Madara's...

Appearance.

"So about those reports..." Izuna hinted, changing the subject.

Madara's face suddenly seemed to tense up. Very subtly, but it was still there. A dawning realization.

Directional skills. Replying back.

Madara's hands immediately reached for the reports lying neatly on the side of his desk, his elegant movements reflecting the urgency of his meaning behind the sudden behavior.

Newly acquired sheet in hand, Madara began to once again scan over the report.

_**Status report from the eastern lines, July 13 sundown:**_

_Sunrise July 12: The Sotaki forces have broken through the eastern barricades with 300 soldiers engaging in battle at the heart of the fort complex. Over the course of two days 110 troops have been killed during the power struggle within the compound and the survivors are moving to the northern most posts to negotiate settling arrangements with the troops there._

_The Sotaki's main force's last known direction was south-west with an attack force of 500. It is believed that the Sotaki leader is planning a frontal attack on the southern lines, where you are currently situated from previous reports._

_It has been rumored that the Sotaki leader is currently making secret negotiations with the supply lines of the northern posts. __**Waiting for reply....**_

Waiting for reply...

Madara's neck and posture went stiff. Impossible. This whole time...

This woman had sent him a report on her _own_ progress.

Izuna sneaked a peek over his elder brother's shoulder. A sly grin.

Izuna's eyes immediately sparked anew with mischievous intent. This was too good to pass up. He'd probably never have this chance again.

Better to have died smiling, than live regretting right?

"Ah, never though I'd see a more...precise report on an enemy's movements." Izuna cracked a smirk at his brother's unusual stillness. "_You must be losing your touch_ dear broth..."

Izuna dodged the blow of Madara's fist heading towards his face. He'd been expecting that one. It had only been a matter of time until Madara lashed out.

"You fool!" Madara bellowed, and Izuna had to raise his brow to this rare sight. "Do you not understand the situation!?" Madara was fuming now, his long wild hair falling over one of his crimson eyes.

Izuna smiled good naturedly at his raging elder brother. "I take it we'll be attending that meeting then."

Madara's thin eyed stare caught Izuna's. His crimson orbs bearing down on his younger brother. Searching his face for his true meaning behind his statement.

Izuna was tempted to laugh, but he withheld it in exchange for watching his brother's face darken in realization of the _whole_ situation they were in.

So he'd finally figured it out then. Izuna gave his brother a deceptively innocent smile. About time too.

Madara's eyes went haywire, the black designs in his pupil spinning rapidly in his suppressed rage. "How long have you known?" His voice was strained from his attempts at keeping his voice down.

Izuna smiled. "About the Sotaki or your lack of directional skills."

In a flash of black Madara vanished then, but Izuna quickly blocked the blow he'd been expecting. Predictable. Too predictable.

"Dear brother." Izuna said to his brother, his voice now losing all trace of laughter. This change in attitude caused Madara to hold his next attack. "Perhaps this state of aggravation this woman keeps you in is the reason you are now backed into a corner the way you are."

At this, Madara broke his contact with Izuna, backing up a step. Contemplating what Izuna had told him.

Yes. Perhaps so.

Madara looked to his brother's face, looking for any sign of mockery. There was none.

Izuna saw his brother's questioning look, and decided to explain the full of their problems in words. "The eastern fort has been captured..." Izuna started, pacing the room now. He spared a glance to his brother. "...and the supply lines to the western camp have been cut off completely." A pause for added effect on Izuna's part. "Enemy soldiers are within the very heart of the northern fort. The fort that lost its suppliers this afternoon." Izuna raised an eyebrow at his elder brother. "About three hours ago to be precise."

Madara's lips tightened into a line. He understood now. At least, he thought he did.

Izuna shook his head, coming to a stand by the office window leading to the outside. The Sun was all but gone now, and only the dimmest of scarlet red could be seen on the horizon.

"She's played you like a fool Madara. She obviously must have had high expectations on your abilities as a general..." Izuna let a smirk cross his lips. "...as an equal."

Madara turned his heated glare away from his brother, not wanting to hear this. But he couldn't leave the room. He had to know the truth. No matter how belittling.

"That's why she had sent you that..._report._" The tiniest bit of humor went into that statement, but not much. "She wanted a head on confrontation with you, possibly believing that you may have actually been smart enough to outwit her should she have tried a more in the shadows approach. A compliment."

Izuna watched the sun disappear completely, the warmth across the land now gone in its absence. Madara too glanced out the window, watching the sun fall from its glorious throne in the sky.

How ironic.

"This had also been her intention because in the light of things, she knew you would have to surrender eventually in a major head to head battle." Izuna smirked, knowing that his was probably killing his brother's pride.

A truly humbling experience for his elder brother.

"She must have done her homework on the Uchiha's financial problems, and on our lack of suppliers." Izuna crossed the few steps to the table, quickly lighting the small candle on the desk with a minimized fire style jutsu. "She had had another intent behind the letter as well."

Madara's gave Izuna a dark look, knowing from experience that he wouldn't like what was to come. It was something he knew he should have seen. Should have spotted right away.

But he, a proud Uchiha general unaccustomed to such expertise on the part of his enemy. Had not been able to see past the frustration of his own anger to the truth. And in the end...

It had blinded him.

"She wanted to test your skill as a mastermind. A genius. So that she could assess whether or not to engage in a war with the Uchiha. She needed to understand the way your mind worked." Izuna smiled then, good humor now back at full force.

Madara frowned deeply, but still managed to inquire of his brother. "So from the beginning. It has been a win, win situation...for _her_?"

Izuna gave his brother a sly grin. So his elder brother finally understood. "See how much sharper your mind is when you calm down a bit dear brother."

* * *

Madara sat at the small entrance of the tent where the meeting would be held. Impossible, this woman was.

Madara looked to the moon, watching how it shined so much greater than the stars around it, though never stole the sky to itself. Living in harmony with the stars beside it.

Such a concept he could not understand.

The sky was vast and boundless, as was the world in which he lived. But he...was not the moon.

He was the sun. In the face of his glory, he blocked out all others. His light spreading day throughout the land, as the moon spreads the night. Blinding any who but peeks at his radiance.

What was this woman he wondered. The moon...or the sun.

He gazed out over the fields of rolling grasses, turned gold with the return of autumn, but now a ghostly pale under the light of the waning moon. The beginning of frost beginning to collect on the delicate blades, shining brightly against the paleness of their bearers.

Why here of all places?

The Uchiha leader closed his eyes as he leaned his head back onto the tent wall, his face turned upwards towards the star lit skies above. His skin of perfect porceline glowing against the moonlight and his hair darker than the weeping shadows hidden from the moon's sight. Dew from the still air gathered in his hair now, shining like stars against the silk spread of night.

His eyes opened slightly, still hooded heavily as if in a haze of sleep. He needed this. Being out of the office. In the open fields were the air was sweet and crisp while the mountain streams cool and pure.

Here, he felt contented.

Then the memories of the day before entered his mind, throwing his newly gained clarity to the winds.

Madara's head twitched at the thought of having to meet this woman face to face. The very woman who had so bluntly insulted his rank as Uchiha leader and head general.

"Still sulking?" Izuna inquired from the open flap of the tent, a smile graced upon his wide lips. His face also a porcelain white against the moonlight.

Madara turned a displeased glare over his shoulder, eyeing Izuna with displeasure. "No."

Izuna smirked, but pulled his head back into the tent before Madara could retaliate and essentially spark his own instincts to taunt his elder brother. Best to let his brother prepare himself for what was to come.

He would surely need it.

* * *

**Author's note**

**Boogana Hoogana Loogana!!! Ba, ba, ba, na, na, na! Yayzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!! I'm bumblebee! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...So what'd you think? It is not just the cutest barrel of apples you've ever seen? Nooooooo...It was good though right?**

**People must think I'm insane, but I'll have you know I'm not! I'm just **_**mentally unstable**_** and **_**psychologically damaged**_**. LOL!!! Please review...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: The fourth chapter! Well...I've decided that I've written enough on this story and it must now be discarded..............................NOT! Enjoy!!!

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Four: When the Tyrants of War Collide...**

11:55p.m...

Silence. The silence within the tent was deafening.

Madara glanced around the half filled table to which he sat at one end of. His councilors were all there, kneeling at the low laying table, each flanked by a guard.

Should the Sotaki stage an attack. The Uchiha leader wanted to be ready.

"A bit much perhaps." Izuna commented with an innocent smile, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers and glancing about a bit. A usual sign of his growing restlessness.

Madara realized this change in his brother's posture at once. What was his younger brother so edgy about?

Madara's eyes narrowed ominously, searching his brother for any sign of weaknesses. There were none to be seen, but the younger man was seemingly worried about something.

Izuna, sensing his brothers inspecting gaze on his face, returned his stare with a smirk. "You worried brother?" He was taunting him.

The basterd had set him up.

Madara's fists tightened in his lap. Turning the tables on him in such a manner, and in front of the counsel. Damn Izuna.

Izuna rolled his eyes softly, but gave his brother a sly grin before adding. "I understand your _position_ in the matter, but I assure you. I'll be beside you the whole time."

Madara was about to retaliate to Izuna's taunting, until a chakra flare caught their attention.

A gesture that signaled the Sotaki's arrival. On peaceful terms.

Izuna smiled good naturedly as the Sotaki elders, along with some younger shinobi, entered the tent cautiously. Though their uneasiness was not one-sided, since the Uchiha counsels were also on their guard.

The Sotaki and the Uchiha were at war after all.

Madara rose to his feet slowly, giving a small bow to the Sotaki elders. A tense bow. The elders, along with the younger shinobi, gave a curt bow to Madara as well.

A show of respect between two opposing clans.

The Sotaki elders came to a kneel at the opposite end of the table from the Uchihas. Waiting for the arrival of their leader.

Madara too, waited for the arrival of this Muki. The person who had given him so much trouble over the course of a mere week.

Someone entered the tent. Tall, sleek, eyes of the darkest shades, raven hair pulled back into a low pony tail, and a pale complexion that any Uchiha could relate to. Truly a sight to behold.

There was only one problem though...this person was a man.

Madara raised an eyebrow at this turn of events. So this _Muki_ was actually a man then.

"Uchiha Madara." The man gave Madara a slow bow, but even in the this act of respect, Madara could sense that this man was not as sincere as he presented himself as.

"Sotaki Muki I presume." Madara gave a formal bow back. Also an insincere gesture of respect.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Apparently Muki was once again correct in her assessment of you Uchiha-sama." The way the man had said Muki's name, did not escape his notice. "I am Sotaki Kun. Muki's second in command. My Lady will be here shortly."

It did not take long either. Neither was it...conventional.

"Dick!" The voice of a woman outside whined. "Help me catch the fire flies. Quickly!"

Fire flies? Madara couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Of course my Lady." Kun replied in an impassive yet remarkably snobbish tone, turning away from Madara and heading out of the tent.

Izuna raised an eyebrow. "Fire flies?" A small smile graced his lips. "Wonder what she needs those for." He was directing this question to no one in particular.

Madara on the other hand felt a frown making its way onto his face. What was this? Since when was he, Uchiha Madara, put in second priority to catching fire flies?

Madara crossed his arms into a firm posture, and let his eyes close in frustration. No those were bad thoughts. They would only lead to rash behavior on his part.

His eyes began to open, but the sight he received. He had not been expecting. When had she even...impossible! No one was that skilled in the art of stealth. Not even him.

Madara stared _down_ at the woman standing before him, his eyes guarded yet skeptical.

Messy black curls down to her mid back, large brown eyes staring up at him defiantly, and a short stature. White shirt and gray pants, _men's_. Plain. Average.

That was Sotaki Muki? The woman who had made his life a living hell.

What he got hadn't been what he was expecting.

Madara and her eyes locked. Intensely. A frown across her face and the pulling of her brows told of something that she didn't like about him.

So already she had decided she disliked him. Then again so had he. But he wasn't so open about his distain towards her. What did she find so offensive about him?

Her hands reached out to him, but before he could react, she had grabbed hold of his long bangs...and _pulled_ him down to her eye level.

Madara's eyes widened briefly, uncertain of how to perceive this. Izuna on the other hand, was fighting to suppress his laughter.

She smiled then. "Much better. Now I won't have to look up your nostrils at your nose hairs for the entire course of the meeting." Madara was about to pull away, but he paused when he heard her add. "Or wake up tomorrow with a crick in my neck."

Madara's eye twitched as he pulled his hair from her light grasp. What made her so sure she'd _live_ to see tomorrow?

Izuna knew he'd better get Madara away from her. Better yet, her away from Madara. "Or make it easier to give him a kiss." He added on to her statement with an innocent grin, earning a glare from his elder brother.

Muki on the other hand. "Him?" She let that _mistake_ slid, but Izuna still smirked at this. "I don't swing that way." Madara didn't seem to realize the layers beneath her statement, given that he was still trying to compose himself. She raised an eyebrow at Izuna. "Jealous are you, well, I'm sure Tic-Tak would enjoy your company. She hasn't been getting much attention lately." A small smirk quirked at the corner at her lip. Small, but no more sinister then his own.

Izuna realized the indications immediately.

This woman...was not susceptible to petty tricks. Not a good thing...

For his brother.

Izuna raised his eyebrows, aware at the game she was playing at. "And would this Tic-Tak happen to a pet of yours?"

A soft smile crossed her lips as she stepped away from Madara. Sweet and light. The mask of an angel. Truly frightening this woman could be.

"I don't dislike you." Izuna could tell from the softened expression of her eyes, that she was not testing him. She actually meant it.

That was new.

She turned her head slightly, so that she could look up into Madara's face. She frowned and rubbed the back of her neck.

Madara twitched. Damn woman.

"Sit." The woman beckened to the elder of the two Uchiha brothers, coming to a sit herself at the long table.

Immediately, Kun took a seat to the left of her own. She gave him a displeased glower as he did this, but he ignored it. Making himself more comfortable by _pushing_ her a few inches to the right.

Apparently he had little to no fear for his commander's plainly perceivable wrath.

After about ten seconds, she gave up on trying to intimidate her subordinate and once again beckoned for Madara to take a seat beside her.

Madara frowned, refusing to yield to the woman's request. Him, taking orders from this woman. Never!

Muki raised an eyebrow at this. "If you wish to stand, then so be it." She turned her gaze to Izuna. "Since your sister refuses to assist me with these documents and shows a lack of understanding in such matters, then will _you_ please assist me?" Formal and humorless as she pulled a few documents from her pocket.

An insult to great to ignore. Wait...had she...

"Sister!" Madara felt the heat traveling to his face. Preposterous.

Izuna suppressed the laughter. So his brother finally realized it. About time too.

Muki looked back at him, pausing her scanning of the papers before her. "Lady Uchiha, please do not disturb Lord Uchiha and I unless you have acquired the knowledge necessary to contribute in this matter."

The breath caught in the Uchiha counsel's throats. This would end badly should the _meeting_ continue like this.

The Sotaki elders merely shook their heads. The only signs of disapproval towards their _leader's _behavior.

Izuna lost the fight to hide his amusement and surcome to a fit of laughter.

On the other hand.

Madara...looked...scandalized.

Madara stood over her seated form, his eyes flashing demonic red and his shadow falling over her smaller form sinisterly. "I am a man!"

Kun was about to take a defensive position, his hand on the hilt of his sword, but Muki stopped his swift movements with a steady hand.

Muki turned her head slightly to look Madara in the eye, a displeased frown across her lips. "Hating your gender is not a crime Lady Uchiha, but denying it is truly an indication of self loathing."

Izuna felt a secret smirk cross his lips, hidden from the sight of his elder brother. This woman was once again backing Madara into a corner. Cornering him into a situation he couldn't win.

But the worst part of it all, was that his elder brother was too riled up to see it when it was staring him in the face.

This woman...

The Uchiha counsel members stiffed when they felt Madara's chakra levels rise dangerously. Felt the deadly aura clinging to him in thick layers.

The muscles in Madara's back tensed. How dare she!?

Izuna foresaw Madara's outburst, and cut him off quickly. Trying to prevent Madara from falling face first into the situation he was being ensnared in. "What would give such an impression of my brother?"

Muki turned a glare towards the younger Uchiha. She looked insulted. "Are you two mocking me. Surely anyone could see that this woman is not a man."

Honesty. Izuna could sense this woman truly believed what she was saying.

Perhaps that is what made it so funny?

Izuna gave Muki a charming smile, though she was unaffected by it. "I am quite sure that he is indeed a man." Izuna assured to the Sotaki general while indication towards his elder brother. "I may go so far as to say I'm positive on the matter."

Muki gave Izuna a skeptical eye, before turning her gaze towards the elder Uchiha brother. An inspecting frown was evident on her lips. "Even if this was so and you truly were a man...it would only prove to me that you are a self centered individual."

The look on Madara's face. Priceless.

The amusement Izuna was getting from all this. No amount of money could buy him this kind of entertainment.

Even if he had wanted to avoid this...perhaps he had never been able to stop it in the first place?

The impassive look on Kun's face. He didn't seem like the kind of person to pay for a scene such as the one playing out before him.

So in the end...it evened out nicely.

"You..." Madara's voice was starting to strain with his anger.

"Yes Lady Uchiha?" Muki questioned in the upmost seriousness.

Madara felt the twitch in his fingers. The painfully real urge to tear the woman's head from her shoulders.

He suppressed it. He had to calm down.

"On what grounds do you make such assumptions?" Madara inquired smoothly, despite his growing rage.

Izuna closed his eyes briefly, preparing for what he knew would come.

Predictable. His brother was very predictable if you knew how to play your cards, and this woman, had all the cards.

Muki raised an eyebrow. "For one, your hair is too long." She yanked painfully on his bangs.

Madara did not move. But he did go rigid in strained silence.

"You're nails are too clean, too neat, and too long." She had taken his hand in hers and was showing him his own nails in example.

The jaw muscle tightened. His composure slipping.

"You're wearing a dress." She grabbed the sleeve of his robe lightly.

"Kimono." Izuna corrected lightly.

Muki frowned. "Dress!" She looked up at Madara with a displeased frown. "And..." Madara visibly tensed at the contact. "...your boobs are bigger then mine."

What the Uchiha counsel was feeling. No words did justice.

Izuna was choking on his own laughter.

And Kun...he blinked a few times before he returned to studying the documents Muki have left on the table.

Madara's eyes were wide in shock. Something Izuna had never seen on his brother's face before, and needless to say, it did not help his already cramping middle at all.

The spray of red.

Izuna had seen it happen from the front row view he had. He had known it was coming as well. He just hadn't felt too obliged to stop it.

Kun too barely blinked at the sight. It wasn't like he could do anything...now.

The Uchiha elders raised their eyebrows at this. It was about time.

Madara stood silently over the motionless body. Now soaked in blood. Black hair clumped together by the thickening pool of crimson.

The Sotaki elders didn't even give a very potent reaction, though one did sigh in seeming annoyance.

Madara turned his back on the corpse, intent on leaving to lick at his wounded pride, but then...

"You ASS!!!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

**HOLY RUBBER DUCKY TREATS!!! What exactly was Izuna rambling on about anyway!? Madara being backed into a corner, **_**AGAIN**_**. Na! Maybe? I now the answer to that question and many more, but...you don't get to till I type the chapter and post it up. Bwha, ha, ha!!! Please review...**

**Me:** Do I come across as nuts to you?

**Friend:**...Yeah.

**Me:** So it's working then?

**Friend:** It's working too well, the readers might actually believe you to be mental.

**Me:**...

**Friend:** What's that look for?

**Me:**......Perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: Dang! It's the fifth chapter already. All well, hope you all like the story so far.

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Five: Insanity's Master Minds...**

Madara froze at the voice. His back erect and his posture stiff.

But...she.

Wasn't she...

A shadow fell across Madara's face. A thread of incredulity evident on his features.

"How?" Came Madara's disbelieving question as he came to a half turn to face the _body_.

Muki stood within her own blood puddle, glaring at Madara in agitation. Her hands on her hips and a frown on her lips.

"You..." She all but hissed. "...are truly an incompetent ass of few redeeming qualities!" Her face was pulled into a displeased expression.

Izuna raised an eyebrow as he studied the clean cut gash along the front of her throat. Immortal. A secretive smirk crossed his lips. He could use this to his and Madara's advantage.

That is, Izuna cast his speechless elder brother a quick sideward glance, if he played his hand right.

"Anyone knows a gash to the throat isn't nearly as effective as a stab to the heart." Her glower slimmed even farther. "Incompetence!"

The Uchiha counsel felt a cold presence sweep through them. This was not good.

A flash of black and the misplaced rush of air.

More blood could be seen dripping to the ground in thick crimson streams.

Muki looked down in irritated frustration at the kunai blade that had been rammed deep into her chest. "Ouch." A small frown.

Madara's eyes widened. Impossible!

Izuna shook his head. "Truly my brother. You are not so quick in such matters." A taunting statement, but Madara heard none of it. Too bad for the younger Uchiha.

"You're immortal?" Madara couldn't bring himself to believe it, but nonetheless...

Muki turned an annoyed frown on Madara. "There is a fine line between incompetence and stupidity Lady Uchiha, but it seems that you've already crossed that line." The Sotaki leader was losing patience with the dumbfounded Uchiha leader.

Realizing how pathetic he looked, Madara immediately regained his composure. Displaying an impassive mask to hide his shock.

Madara turned a glare down on the shorter person before him and studied her face for any weaknesses. Then her words sunk in fully.

"Bitch..." The Uchiha snarled, his sharingan blazing.

"My thoughts exactly." Muki agreed mockingly as the Uchiha in front of her grit his teeth painfully. "Now Lady Uchiha. Let's be reasonable about this." The irony of it was too much.

Izuna smirked. Did she even know what reason was?

The younger of the Uchiha brothers shook his head lightly. His dear older brother hadn't a chance in hell of competing with this woman...in terms of psychological intimidation and confrontation.

Not in the state of mind he was currently in.

This woman...

Was going to eat him _alive_.

"Besides..." Muki turned back to the table, facing away from the taller commander. One of the young Sotaki began cleaning the blood she had dripped everywhere. "...you own me a favor, if I am to remain silent in this unfortunate matter."

What?

Madara's eyes slimmed dangerously, trying to decipher what she meant.

It came to him. Quickly and _painfully_.

He cast a hardened glance in Izuna's direction. And received an innocent smile in return.

Basterd! He'd known from the beginning...hadn't he?

The Uchiha leader glared down at the woman, who was having her wounds bandaged by her subordinate Kun, and three words came to mind.

Conniving little bitch...

She had been trying to get him enraged. Trying to provoke him into attacking her _first_. So that she could hold it against him...as black mail.

If word ever got out that he, the Uchiha leader, had initiated an attack on a rival clan, while at a **peace** gathering. The Uchiha name.

Would be dragged through the mud.

Izuna watched his brother's lips pull back into a sneer. This was all so amusing; it almost hurt for him to watch his elder brother in such torment.

_Almost_, just not quite.

Truth be told. He loved his big brother, but sometimes...he loved watching his brother's suffering even more.

Hey, that's brotherly love to its fullest.

Muki was writing something. Madara couldn't get a good look at it though, given the woman's body was in the way.

"Done." She announced, rubbing lightly on her newly dressed neck and blowing lightly on the paper she had just written on. She turned a smirk towards Madara. The ghostly quirk of her lips corner more sinister than the widest grin. "Sign it." She demanded abruptly, holding the sheet out to the Uchiha commander.

Madara felt a cold chill run down his spine and settle in the tips of his fingers. Numbing them.

Why did he suddenly feel like something horrible was being conceived?

Kun noticed Madara's sudden uneasiness and gave the Uchiha a secretive snobbish smirk. The man had no idea what he was dealing with.

All well, Kun began to polish his already spotless sword with a small cloth; the poor basterd would just have to learn the hard way.

Like all the others.

"Sign it." Muki repeated, a frown once again creeping onto her face. Impatience.

Madara stared at the paper suspiciously, but under the circumstances, knew he had no choice but to take it. If he wanted to maintain any sense of his dignity he still had.

Izuna smiled. His brother was getting better at maintaining his cool around this woman, but he wasn't quite ready to be left _alone_ with her...just yet.

Madara scanned over it, and frowned. Deeply.

_Document 662_

_I, Madara Uchiha, leader of the Uchiha clan, agree to submit to one command of Sotaki Muki's choosing. Should I fail to uphold this term of the contract, then I will relinquish my claim as Uchiha leader to the Sotaki and admit that my true gender is indeed female, and that I am a self loathing bitch._

_Signature: __Sotaki Muki_________

_Signature: ___________________

A barely visible twitch of the eyebrow. Madara felt his hand tightening his grip on the contract, but he couldn't stop it.

She had won.

If he signed the contract, she would hold authority over him, and therefore, authority over his clan. On the turn side though, if he didn't sign or broke his end of the deal with her, then she would spread the word of his offense against her. And because shinobi are already mistrusted as is from the rest of the world. The result would be, the Uchiha losing their remaining suppliers.

In fear that the Uchiha would turn on _them_ as well.

The coldness in his arms and chest began to spread to his hands and legs.

She had done it.

There was no way around this. She had won. She had known what would happen...and she had won.

Izuna snuck a peek at the piece of paper in his brother's grasp. His delicate eyebrow rose slightly as he quickly scanned the contract.

Damn, she was good. She had been testing the water the whole time it seemed. Learning about his elder brother's behavior and how his mind work.

Like with that report. When she wanted to see if he would catch it, and if so, how he would react to such a situation. A small suppressed laugh. She had known it would come down to this.

Hadn't she?

He smirked. He would have to take repercussions to ensure his brother's _well being_.

While he was at it though, he supposed the Uchiha clan itself needed some protection as well.

Slowly, he turned a charming smirk towards the expectant Sotaki leader. "Lady Sotaki, I ask that you allow me to speak to the Sotaki elders in private." A mischievous smile. "Please."

Muki tensed. So suppressed it was barely perceivable though. In accordance to this, Madara failed to notice her change in behavior. Due to the little fact that he was still near paralyzed in rage over the paper within his grasp. Shaking in rage actually.

Izuna explained. "So that I may come to an agreement that will benefit both Sotaki and Uchiha...given that you two are not so fond of one another at the moment." A placid expression which promised misery and chaos.

Muki kind of liked it. It seemed she had finally met her match.

Then the smile came. "Of course." She seemed almost pleased, but not quite. "If you wish to speak to the basterds, please be my guess." Izuna raised an eyebrow at this, but couldn't help but snort laugh a few times. Basterds? "I want to stretch my legs anyway. First though..." She turned towards Madara. "...sign."

Madara finally seemed to snap from his uncharacteristic daze. Now his anger was fully unleashed.

"You conniving little bitch!" He sneered, his blood red glare bearing down on her with all the spite he possessed. "I will not accept this!"

She was unaffected by his outburst. "You don't have to accept it...just sign it." She frowned a bit. "There is a big difference."

Madara stiffened, but he knew, in her own twisted way, that she was right. And it hurt his pride more then anything to realize that.

Madara glanced to the ink pen laying neglected on the table surface.

How had it come to this?

Izuna suppressed a fit of laughter. Oh, this was better then Drama Theater...

And what made it all the more rewarding was that he wasn't paying a cent!

* * *

Madara could only lay there within the darkness of the still night. His back laid out flat upon the grass wetted from the gathered dew. None of that mattered though.

What was he to do now?

The cold of early morning tickled irritably at his uncovered hands. Numbing them with pleasurable sensations. It didn't help any though.

It seemed too, that all of the fire flies had left these fields.

He glanced back to the tent, the one in which his younger brother was currently speaking to the Sotaki elders and the Uchiha counsels within. A frown made its way onto his lips and his eye closed in concentration.

Izuna was right.

Madara opened his eyes again, the cold black orbs hard as a jewel. When he was around that woman, he was too riled up from anger to think properly. He frowned, and she took full advantage of that knowledge.

Truly a losing battle for him.

When he was away from her though, he could think clearly. He could look back on what had happened and realize what he had done wrong.

That was why Izuna had sent him out of the tent to _'check on the men'_ as he had put it. A lie, but not a complete lie.

Madara had checked on the progress of his men at the border of the Weeping meadows. Just to ensure his army was still intact.

He sure as hell didn't feel like _he_ was.

He was not naturally dim witted, but anger and stress did funny things to people's minds. No matter how intelligent they are.

Madara was beginning to understand what it was that drove so many clans, so many empires, to ruin. One word summed it up very nicely.

Frustration...

Which leads to anger.

Which in turn leads to rash behavior.

Which leads to mistakes.

Which leads to even _greater_ frustration.

And so the cycle continues, progressively getting worse, until the system finally collapses in on itself. Taking the key players with it.

Not a very positive thought. Considering his own experiences with this vicious cycle of continuous animosity.

What had Izuna been thinking? How had he done it? The way he had handled that woman was beyond him. Madara let a frown cross his lips. More importantly though, how could _he _learn to handle this woman's behavior.

He thought about the woman who he'd faced...and lost to.

Muki...

She was dangerous. Not just because she was cunning or immortal, but because she was reckless with her own body yet cautious with the lives of her soldiers.

A rather effective combination, given that she could afford to put her life in danger and not pay _with_ her life in the end. That complicated his own options of how to respond to this woman's intolerable behavior.

He couldn't just kill her and she couldn't be reasoned with it seemed. She was too set in her own way of thinking.

Because in the end...

Her thoughts and actions made sense...to _her_.

He wet his dry lips absently. It would seem, that with woman was neither the sun nor the moon. She was the sky itself.

He thought back to how she'd handled him when they spoke and how her thought process had changed so rapidly when she reacted with Izuna.

She seemed to have many colors, but always maintained an unseen boundary of what can and can't affect her.

Izuna was the moon. Living in harmony with the stars around him. Stars, qualities, which the woman flaunted about when he was present. Unable to hide them from his steady gaze.

He, Uchiha Madara, was the sun. Outshining all others. A shine which could not live in harmony with the stars. For he was too proud, and the stars were to dull in his eyes.

Which lead Madara to the question.

Can the sun ever meet his far off cousins in the glory of its own pride?

* * *

Izuna smiled good naturedly at the gathering of men before him. All waiting patiently for him to speak. Uchiha and Sotaki alike.

"I propose the Uchiha and Sotaki become allies." Izuna stated bluntly. Not one person spoke, though Kun seemed to have finally given the Uchiha his full attention at hearing this. "I think you can all understand my reasoning for this." Izuna smirked knowingly.

Yes, indeed they did.

The Uchiha had military numbers and physical advantages, as where the Sotaki had vast supply networks and exceptional strategy tactics.

The perfect combination for a military kingdom fit for an empire.

Nonetheless. "Uchiha am I to understand that you believe that our clans will so readily accept such an idea...when we have just _finished a war_." Ouch. Izuna was glad he had sent his brother away for this.

Then again...

"I am Muki's second in command, and as such, am entitled to speak on her behalf when she is not present." Kun gave Izuna a small frown.

The way he said Muki's name.

Izuna looked the Sotaki's second in command in the eye. His inky black orbs scanning over Kun's posture.

So this one was not as naive as he might appear it seemed. Not a good thing, but not a bad one either.

Izuna smirked. "Don't worry..." A tauntingly innocent smile. "I will not force my ideals onto either _your_ commander or my dear elder brother." That smile never wavered. "That is not how I prefer to negotiate."

The Sotaki gave somewhat hesitant glances towards the Sotaki's second in command. Waiting. Knowing full well what was being passed between the two second in commands.

What wasn't being said.

The Uchiha counsel had an idea of what was lingering between the lines, but not so much. Given they didn't know of Kun's _interests_.

Kun gave Izuna an icy glare, his hands never leaving his newly polished blade. Understanding full well what Izuna was inferring. "She will decline." His eyes hardened. "She would never accept it."

Izuna raised an eyebrow. When he spoke, his voice was filled with an uncharacteristically arrogant tint. "Will she?" A taunting smile. "It would seem...only time will tell."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**HOY YA!!! Izuna is so CHOCOLATE CHEESE CAKE GOOD!!! Yum. All Madara fan girls, including me, I'm just going to let you know that even if Madara seems a bit...**_**off**_** at the moment, don't worry, he will have his shining moments of AWSOMENESS!!! I wouldn't be much of a Madara fan if I turned him into some gullible pushover. Please review...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: BLUBBER NUGGETS FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER!!! IZUNA IS AN EVIL SPIRITED LITTLE BEAST, IS HE NOT!? Got to love him though.**

**Away from my completely insane ranting, I must warn you all that to fully get the whole experience of this story, one has to read every word _Carefully_. It may or may not seem like it, but almost every single event that happens has some deep meaning or future use. So even the _smallest of details_ can be the sole key to the creation or undoing of any given character. As you've probably noticed from some of my other chapters.

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Six: The Contract...**

Izuna watched as Madara entered the tent, followed by the Uchiha guard that had been sent to bring him.

Madara's face was perfectly composed now. Obviously having worked out the turmoil within himself. Which from Izuna's viewpoint, was quite a lot.

The elder of the Uchiha brothers took a seat at the head of the table, beside Izuna. Casting his younger brother a sideward glance, face cold and unmoving.

Now that was the Madara he knew so well.

"Dear brother." An assuring smile that Madara immediately noted as a bad sign. "The Sotaki elders and the Uchiha counsel have come to a compromise." Kun's frown deepened at this, but Izuna merely winked at the other man smugly. "It has been suggested that the Uchiha and the Sotaki become allies so that..."

"WHAT!?" Not Madara's voice, but rather the voice of the woman who had just walked into the tent entrance. All eyes turned to the woman. Muki gave Izuna a mistrusting frown, before she glared at the whole of the watching audience. "Unacceptable! I will _not_ allow it!"

Kun smirked in triumph, casting a snobbish glance towards the young Uchiha. Izuna ignored it though and smiled good naturedly at Muki. "Why not may I ask?"

Muki seemed to calm down now, letting Izuna's words sink in. "Because..." She cast a glance towards Izuna. "I don't want to make alliances right now, I want to play chess." She pouted childishly. "Making alliances is _boring_."

The Sotaki slammed their foreheads into their palms.

Both Madara's eyebrows twitched automatically at hearing this. What the hell?

Izuna held back the fits of laughter, but the mirthful smile was a given. "Is that so?" He inquired charmingly. Kun glared at Izuna threateningly, but as expected, Izuna ignored it in exchange for watching Muki cross her arms in a _very_ immature and unninja-like manner.

"Yes."

Madara felt the blood rising to his face, but he remained silent. Having realized that speaking to this woman on matters of trivial activities would only lead to more nonsense and headaches.

"Well then." Izuna said lightly. "Why don't we play chess?" A mischievous smile. "But instead of just playing win/lose, why don't we make a bet?"

Muki gave Izuna a suspicious look, but smiled a moment later. "Okay then, I accept. What are your terms?" She asked seriously.

Madara raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling as to where his brother was going with this. He remained silent, taking it into his top priority list to watch and understand how his brother dealt with this woman's unreasonable mannerisms.

The elder Uchiha had a feeling that that was _part_ of the intention behind Izuna sending him out from the tent so that he could speak to the Sotaki elders alone. To give him time to compose himself.

He himself didn't completely trust in his little brother. Izuna had a tendency to be a bit...sadistic.

"How about if you win, you can have what ever you want from the Uchiha clan." An innocent smile. "If Madara wins though, you tear up that contract you made with him." Izuna suggested softly, a tint of amusement evident in his voice.

Muki was about to rely, but Izuna held up a hand. Signaling he was not done yet.

"Should there be a tie though...then the Uchiha and the Sotaki are to form an alliance." That smile.

Madara turned an impassive stare towards his brother, not trusting his own tongue. He knew it would only turn the woman's nonsense on him.

Causing him to once again lose composure.

Izuna watched the woman reaction, still keenly ignoring Kun's secretive glower on his back. "Done." She announced with barely even a pause.

Already she was writing on another piece of paper. Another contract perhaps?

Izuna was soon proved correct when the woman handed him the sheet she'd been writing on and pushed the ink pen into his other hand.

Izuna skimmed over it.

_Document 663_

_I, Sotaki Muki, leader of the Sotaki, agree to the terms of this contract. In a game of chess, should I lose the match, I will terminate the conditions of Uchiha Madara's contract, Document 662, immediately._

_Signature:__ Sotaki Muki____________

_We, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna, leader and second in command of the Uchiha, agree to the terms of the contract. In a game of chess, should either of us lose the match, we will willingly grant Sotaki Muki anything available to her from the Uchiha clan._

_Signature:____________________

_Signature:_____________________

_We, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, and Sotaki Muki, leaders and second in command of the Uchiha and Sotaki, agree to the terms of this contract. In a game of chess, should we tie the match, we will willingly form an alliance with each other._

_Signature:__ Sotaki Muki____________

_Signature:____________________

_Signature:_____________________

Seemed reasonable enough. Izuna gave a small smile; at least the odds were in _his_ favor. After pondering for a few moments, he signed the contract before handing it over to his elder brother.

It was only a contract. And contracts are only as binding as any verbal agreement. A secretive smirk crossed his lips.

Madara looked over the contract, and also signed it. Having come to the same conclusion as his younger brother.

Deceit was the trade mark of any good ninja, wasn't it? So denying ever having signed the contract wouldn't be a difficult task.

Finally, the turn of the tide seemed to be favoring him.

Muki smirked then, small and sinister, having watched the Uchiha brothers sign with great content. The Sotaki elders could do nothing more but watch as the two young men signed away at the contract.

Signed away their very freedom, their lives, their souls to their silent leader's awaiting arms...just like all the others.

All the others who thought _her_ contacts could be so easily discarded...

After the Uchihas had finished, Muki took the contract from them and held it up to the light. "Dick." Kun rose as Izuna failed to contain a snort of laughter. "Bring me the fire flies."

The tensing of the Sotaki elders did not go unnoticed by neither of the Uchiha brothers, nor the Uchiha counsel. Without a word, Kun left the tent. Not before casting the brothers a smug smirk though.

Izuna let his gaze wander to the open tent flap, trying to piece together what was going on. He would soon get his answers though, wouldn't he?

Kun reentered the tent, carrying a medium sized jar of fire flies in his hands. All glowing faintly and crawling aimlessly about the bottom or sides.

Madara and Izuna watched silently as Muki took the jar of fire flies from her second in command and gave one of her other subordinates a slight nod of the head.

Without a word, he closed the tent flap.

Izuna, was very amused by all this. The woman almost had made this seem like a ritual of some sort. Perhaps it was?

Then, the Sotaki leader blew out the candle lights. Turning the room near pitch black, with the exception of the fire flies.

Muki pulled another piece of paper from her pocket and placed it on the table beside the newly signed contract. The agreement between herself and Madara?

It was different though. In the light, it looked like any normal sheet of paper with writing on it, but in the dark...it began to glow with strange symbols. Symbols Madara had never seen before, and from the inquisitive expression Izuna had, neither had he.

Next she pulled a small bottle from her pocket and placed that beside the contracts. It was filled with an unknown almost bluish green fluid.

The bottle was almost empty the Uchiha brothers noted.

Madara's eyes slimmed ominously, not liking what he was seeing. He did not know what this woman was up to, but it _did not feel right_.

Muki opened the jar and allowed the fire flies to fly out through the opening, their bodies beginning to glow anew.

Crush.

The woman opened her fingers, revealing the remains of a fire fly she had snatched from the air. Its fluids began to stain the palm of her hand.

Her hand began to glow bright blue, flowing with her chakra. She was using that chakra to grind and mash the fire fly carcass to a pure liquid, infusing the fluids with her chakra.

Izuna watched with interest and mild caution as the woman opened the top of the bottle and let the now bluish green substance leak into the opened bottle from her hand.

Muki did this repetitively, soon filling the bottle completely with the chakra infused fluids.

Madara, like his bother, felt the caution, unsure of how to react to this. He remained quiet though. Knowing full well that speaking to this woman would only bring about more unwanted misery.

For him.

The woman gave the young Sotaki warrior, who had closed the tent flap, a silent gesture to reopen it, allowing the surviving fire flies to drift of into the night as they pleased.

After a short silence, Izuna spoke up inquisitively. "Firefly soup?" He smirked at his own suggestion, though Muki just gave him a maliciously gentle smile.

Izuna took that as a bad sign.

"No." Her eyebrows shot up. "Contract goo." She held the small bottle by the thin neck and lifted it slightly for the Uchiha brothers to see.

Madara scoffed before he could stop himself. This woman...

Was ridiculous!

She turned a frown on the taller, male general. Izuna shook his head softly, an expression of hopelessness on his face.

"Lady Uchiha, I would appreciate it if you blew your nose into a tissue." The raising of an eyebrow. "It is not very polite to do otherwise."

"What?" Low and malicious with a slight tint of disbelief.

She thought that he had blown his nose!? This woman was impossible!

The woman turned a displeased frown towards Madara. "I said, why don't you use a tissue to blow your nose like an adult?"

Madara was about to retort, but Izuna cut in. "He meant that there are no tissues present Lady Sotaki." Izuna explained placidly, a smile across his lips. "So he wanted to know if you had any perhaps." His eyebrows rose as he asked the Sotaki leader this.

Muki's expression softened. "Of course. All she had to do was ask." She pulled a small cloth from her pocket and handed it to the Uchiha's second in command.

Madara tensed. The bitch...and Izuna was a bastard for playing along with her games.

"You're too kind." Izuna laughed lightly while putting the cloth into his own pocket, earning a silent sneer from his elder brother. "Now that that's settled." Izuna smiled his charming smile, and completely ignored his brother's silent malice. "On to the game."

Muki smiled at this. "Dick." Kun immediately gave his leader an attentive glance, doing his best to ignore Izuna's mocking snort laughter. "Chess board please."

Without a word Kun began to reach for a bag to his right. Slowly. Very slowly.

Muki twitched when Kun finally grabbed hold of the bag and pulled it towards himself at a leisurely speed, his lazy dark eyes never leaving her face. He was testing her patience, and everyone in the tent knew it.

He made it unbearably obvious.

Madara raised an eyebrow at this show of taunting behavior from the Sotaki's second in command. He did not completely dislike this man.

At least...not yet.

At a lose for patience, the Sotaki's leader walked up to her second in command and snatched the chess board bearing bag from his light grip, a displeased pout on her expression. "You are truly the biggest Dick I've ever met." Kun only smirked at this.

Almost as if she had given him a complement.

Still aggravated, Muki kneeled beside Kun, and began to take the pieces from the bag and put them on the table's surface. More like slamming them actually.

Izuna raised an observant eyebrow at this. So this was the true relationship between Muki and her second in command. In a way, it kind of reminded Izuna of his own relationship with Madara. There was one major difference though...

He and Madara were brothers, Kun and Muki _were not_.

The indications were apparent to the younger Uchiha at once.

There would be blood.

He would have to keep a close eye on this Kun. He was potentially a very dangerous obstacle to the survival of the Uchiha clan as a whole and, Izuna stole a quick glance at his elder brother's still form, his brother's very life.

After the board was set, Muki gestured for the Uchiha brother's to sit opposite her, a pleasant smile on her lightly tan colored face. So, she had already calmed herself Izuna noted.

Now if only he could teach Madara that trick.

Izuna gladly took a seat before the woman, legs crossed and posture relaxed, but Madara hesitated briefly. He was still pondering in his silent rage.

Yet another mistake on Madara's part. Izuna knew that.

Izuna was about to speak, but Muki beat him to the punch. Not a good thing. "I have noticed a pattern in your sister's response level." Muki stated seriously and Madara tensed, knowing instinctively that he would not take well to her next words. He was right. "Lady Uchiha, are you going blind?" An honest question.

Silence. A deadly silence that left all in the room in an awkward tension.

Muki didn't have to continue on with her sentence, she knew she had already won the _game_.

She had hit a key problem of the Uchiha leader right on the nose. Izuna felt his eyes slim slightly. She was good, no doubt about that. There was something else though.

She was more dangerous then he had first thought. For even if she had not directly known of Madara's failing sight, she had picked up on the settle indications.

Or more exactly, she had done her research on the sharingan.

Not good....for his brother.

What was the Uchiha leader to say to that? Izuna knew all to well the hazards of such a question in the presence of so many high ranking figures. This woman, finally the amused smile came, she was much more than his brother could handle.

Without the proper psychological training that is.

Madara was tense, noticeably so. Where had all his composure gone to he had to wonder briefly. Then the words came to him. As if from some God given instinct.

"Why do you ask?" Izuna nearly leaped for joy. His elder brother was _finally_ catching on.

Muki looked at him briefly, then came a small smile. "Because you are so slow in response to nonverbal communication." She explained. "It gives me the impression that you are either going blind or are very dull in here." She pointed to her head as she said this. "But judging from what I've seen, I sincerely believe it is the second."

Ouch. Madara slow and stupid? Izuna felt a smirk creeping up to his lips, but he suppressed it. Let's hope his brother had caught on as much as he'd hoped.

Silence, and then...

"You..." Malice laced rage. Apparently not.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**TATTER TOTS, I HAVE LOTS!!! More rhymes and gold fish food. Rabbits and snicker bars. So what do you think of this chapter, more specifically, Sotaki Muki? Please review...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**_Understandably_, some may think that Muki Sotaki is a 'Mary-Sue' due to her abilities as a strategist and manipulator. From what I know of the term 'Mary-Sue' though, that is likely not the case with Muki. _Please do not take offense, because I am merely stating what I believe to be a 'Mary-Sue'__. _'Mary-Sue' is a term used to describe a character who is perfect in appearance, mental and/or physical capabilities, grace, elegance, talents, the arts, and/or social standing and mannerism (In short, without flaws or defects.); It is also a term used to describe a character to which most, if not all, characters fall in lust and/or love with usually without probable cause. While Muki is indeed intelligent, my friends and I have come to an agreement that she is not a 'Mary-Sue'. _(FUTURE CHAPTERS WILL HELP TO FARTHER CLARIFY THIS AS WE ARE ABLE TO SEE DEEPER INTO HER LIFE AND HER MIND.)_**

**Author's Note: WHACK A MOLE HICK-A-MY JOE, ON TO CHESS, LET'S GO, GO, GO!!! IZUNA-SAN IS A CONNIVING BASTERD, AND THIS MAY LEAD TO TRUE DISASTER!!! Ha, ha I made a funny. XD On to the story!

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Seven: Chess...**

If anything, Izuna had to admit the outcome of his brother's outburst towards the woman's antics hadn't been nearly as bad as he'd have thought.

Besides the part involving fresh blood getting all over table, and thus, the reports he had been scanning over.

Which highly agitated him.

Not to mention the Sotaki leader being near _decapitated_ during Madara's little _tantrum_ wasn't exactly so pleasant on the eyes either...nor was it a good sign of things to come.

At least Madara had had enough sense to avoid doing anything _too serious_.

"You...are...an...ASS!" Muki yelled in irritation, pouting childishly and giving the Uchiha leader a dirty look. Her arms crossed sulkily over her chest while Kun bandaged up her profusely bleeding throat.

Madara didn't bother to reply, merely gave her a sharp, unrelenting death glare that Izuna was personally grateful to _not_ be at the receiving end of. It was as most would say...chilling.

The Sotaki leader leaned over her second in command's loosely crossed legs, blissfully unaware of the _intensity_ in which Kun was staring down at her. "I don't like him very much." She stated seriously, indicating towards Madara. "He's too rash." She beckoned Kun even closer.

Izuna strained to hear her next words, but he had no such luck. Madara also attempted to ease drop on her words, but as Izuna, he too failed.

Kun pulled away from her slowly, and smirked lightly. "I concur."

Madara tensed. Izuna took that as a bad sign, and the way in which Kun was speaking to Muki, wasn't working to his advantage either.

"Kun?" Kun immediately gave his leader his full attention at hearing his name. "Are you stressed?" Her inspecting brown eyes were peering up at him. Watching his face intently.

What? Madara didn't comprehend her words at first, but it didn't take long for him to understand what was concerning the Sotaki leader.

The Uchiha leader noticed it then. Kun was rigid. Very rigid, and it seemed like his breathing was just a tad bit harder than before.

"My Lady." The Sotaki's second in command gave a calm composed voice. "It is close to winter. Perhaps I am indeed catching an illness." Muki's eyes never wavered nor strayed. It was apparent the Sotaki leader was suspicious of what her second in command was telling her.

She smiled lightly. "Okay Dick." Izuna forced his lips together, hiding his laughter. "Then I order you to go to bed." Her smile widened. "Immediately."

Kun closed his eyes in frustration. Letting out a deep breath.

Madara felt his brow twitch, unnoticeably. What was she, his mother!?

Was she really so...Madara couldn't find the right word to describe her, but intolerable was a start.

And Izuna...he used the tissue the Sotaki leader had given him earlier to cover his snorted laughter. Pretending to be blowing his nose.

Were they...power flirting?

Izuna wasn't sure, but he had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't the case.

So it seemed his unfortunate elder brother Madara wasn't the only one she played the _game _with. Understandable, given her character.

"Lady Muki. I do not require rest, merely a cup of tea." Muki didn't believe him. The frown on her face was a clear indication of that.

Well. She was right in her assumption that Kun was hiding something _important_ from her.

...But it wasn't an illness.

Izuna smirked secretively. She honestly didn't see it.

Muki came to a stand, pointing towards the tent flap she spoke down at Kun. "Bed." Kun merely looked up into her eyes expressionlessly. Muki raised an eyebrow and smiled lightly as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

Madara and Izuna felt a wave of realization sweep through them. Leaving an uncomfortable itch in their spines.

In her grasp, held before her second in command's face, was a contract.

That wasn't a good sign.

Kun frowned then, but nonetheless came to a stand before his leader. He gave her a snobbishly knowing smirk while he watched _down_ at her face as it strained into a displeased glare.

Madara watched with an impassive expression. Knowing exactly what was displeasing the woman so much.

Apparently, she did not like being looked down upon.

---

Madara's emotionless eyes searched for any signs of trickery from the woman before him. Across the chess board.

He found none. However...

What the hell was she doing!?

Madara watched the woman with narrowing eyes as she suddenly kicked at the table leg beside her with one firm movement. Before she glared at it lividly.

Izuna raised an eyebrow and smiled placidly before inquiring with a light voice. "Does the table displease you?"

The woman gave Izuna a frown. "Yes." The frown deepened. "It bumps against my thigh when I turn."

Madara felt his glower of impatience sharpening to a deadly breaking point. "You haven't turned once." He nearly sneered. This woman was utterly ridiculous.

Muki glared back, but hers was softer and less wary than the Uchiha leader's. "Ever heard of precautions Lady Uchiha?" Madara tensed at her words, straining to maintain composure. "Apparently not." She cast a sideways glance at him. "Given your lack of ready battle preparations."

What Madara would give to simply be able to _kill_ this woman. How dare she!?

Izuna cut his brother off before he could retort. "Lady Sotaki. That is why we are here." That had been a bold move on Izuna's part. Very bold.

So much so that the Uchiha counsel had noticeably gone rigid.

Muki gave Izuna an inspecting glance before she relaxed into a gentle smile. Then she spoke. Words that would have put the Uchiha lead flat on his ass, if he hadn't already been sitting. "You'd have made a great leader, had you had the ambition Lord Uchiha."

Even Izuna wasn't so sure of what to say to that, but that speechlessness didn't last long. "I am greatly honored Lady Sotaki."

Madara wasn't sure why, but a cold chill seemed to reside in his arms as he watched his brother and the Sotaki leader exchange words. A sign that no good would come of this.

He could feel it.

Muki and Izuna broke eye contact at the same time. Muki picked up a chess piece and smiled at Madara softly as she placed it forward. "White first."

Madara didn't respond with anything other then a soft grunt. His fingers reaching to the black pawn before him.

So the game was on.

Pawn after pawn. Black and white. Disappearing from the board one after the other.

Knights and castles of both colors. Discarded to the dead piles building up at the side lines.

The clicking of finely fired clay to the glass board below. Click after click were the only sounds to be heard within the silence that had enveloped the tent.

No one, on the Sotaki nor the Uchiha, wished to be the one to breach the silence. In fear of their leader's wraths.

Izuna merely watched with a keen interest. His now blood red eyes taking in ever detail of the scene before him. Memorizing every move made.

Looking for something.

Then he spoke, startling a few of the watching clansmen present. "Lady Muki." The Sotaki leader looked up to him slowly, a knight piece still in her grasp.

"Yes lord Uchiha?" She placed the piece down _without looking_ as she inquired lightly, earning a frown from Madara.

The effrontery.

Izuna smiled good naturedly, knowing he had the Sotaki leader's full attention. At least she had manners when not provoked to do otherwise.

Izuna glanced to his brother briefly, thinking of a way to cushion what he was to ask. He found none and decided to be blunt.

Because that was all that could really be done with this woman. Less one wanted to become a target to her _games_.

"Since you have won the war between our clans..." A long silence followed that caused some of the Uchiha men to squirm unnoticeably. "How did you do it exactly?" Honest curiosity. "In detail." That part was to ensure he kept this woman's favor by _not_ appearing to be as blind to her plans as his elder brother had temporarily been.

He already knew how she had done it. He just wanted to hear it from her lips, and for his brother to gain a complete picture as to how this woman thought.

As she had done to his elder brother.

Madara's posture had gone tense and there was a clearly slamming factor in the way the elder Uchiha had set his piece in play. Izuna noticed it immediately. He had expected as much.

He was silently raging. His natural pride turning inward on itself like a flesh eating disease. Gnawing away at his ego.

Izuna _almost_ felt bad...he was just too busy keeping his laughter under control to realize it.

It was a typical Izuna thing.

"Well Lord Uchiha." Muki began, ignoring Madara's sudden change in behavior as the elder Uchiha glared darkly at her back. "This war wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it'd be." That was like a slap to the face for the elder Uchiha. "It was actually kind of boring." Poor Madara, perhaps she'd drop dead from boredom one day. "I do believe that had Lady Uchiha not been experiencing her troubled time, than the battle might have been more entertaining."

Truly a woman of greatness, Izuna pondered silently to himself, if one could understand the depths and see past the insanity of her words.

The sound of glass chattering.

Madara had all but slammed his knight piece down onto the glass board, despite his attempts at control, successfully leaving a good sized crack in it from one end to the other.

His tense fingers were still firmly gripping that same knight when he spoke. "You think war is such a trivial matter, that the lives of your men have no value to you!?" Madara could not accept that this woman was that way. Not even he could ever take the lives of his men so lightly.

It was unthinkable for the leader of any clan to have so little regard to the safety of their own men.

Muki's posture had gone noticeably rigid, and the Sotaki elders along with her. Izuna would have sighed in hopelessness, had he not been too busy studying the Sotaki leader's reaction to his elder brother's words.

The Sotaki ignored the broken chess board, instead took to watching the Uchiha leader intently. "One should not make such assumptions Lady Uchiha." Muki glared coldly at Madara, her eyes hard and unyielding as she stared into his red orbs unmoving. "For I have not lost a single man."

What? Madara couldn't believe what he was hearing. Impossible.

Muki frowned deeply, before she continued. "I could never accept such criminals into the ranks of my people's army. So I merely created a second army..." Madara felt a cold sensation in the back of his neck. "...and let them die in place of my people." Her voice was like ice, her words a silently raging blizzard.

A second army, of criminals. Madara felt the itching in his shoulder. She had used prisoners to battle him. How could she have gathered so many, and kept their loyalty simultaneously?

Muki saw his questioning look, and understood it. "Rapists, traitors, and scum straight from hell. I have many alliances Lady Uchiha, and in the world there will always be those who need to be destroyed." The impassiveness of Muki's voice was rather disturbing, and Izuna took it as a bad sign. "So I merely gave them a purpose before their deaths, promising them their freedom from imprisonment should they have survived. Besides...a man with nothing will give anything to obtain something. So getting them to sign my contract was no work at all." She smiled then, a sweet and innocent smile that disturbed Madara more than any sinister smirk could. "They flocked to be in the new _army,_ and it quickly grew in size. So I put them on the front lines."

Madara frowned. She had just said that such men needed to be destroyed, then why would she promise them their freedom should they survive. "You allowed criminals to go free."

Unacceptable.

Had this woman no honor?

How could her peers have ever consented to such a plan? Allowing such people to roam freely once again. Outrageous.

Muki's expression gave him the impression that she felt as if she were dealing with an ignorant child. It was enraging, but Madara held back. "I said I'd free them from imprisonment. I never said I'd let them live afterwards." The smile she gave Madara was that of self satisfaction. "Such silly creatures they _were_." She picked up a knight piece and placed it forward, taking one of his unguarded pawns.

Madara felt a gripping in his lower stomach. So she was finally revealing the darkest side of her nature to him...

And he didn't like it.

Madara remained silent as he moved his castle, lining up to take her king. She immediately took it out with her own castle. Unfortunately, that left her queen open, and Madara took it with the knight he'd broken the glass board with.

They were going to have a tie game at this rate. An irritating realization for the Uchiha leader, but he remained impassive through it. Understanding that if they did indeed tie, then both he and his clan would be relatively safe from this woman's outrageous battle antics.

It was a step in the right direction.

Madara waited for her to take his now unguarded queen with her castle. A move that would once again put them on equal grounds, but the move didn't come.

Madara looked up...

Just in time to catch the king piece that had been thrown at his head.

"Bastard! Take the king; it's just the ass of the army! The queen is the backbone and must lead the army to victory!" Came the loud hiss from across the chess board.

The Uchiha counsel sprung up from their seats, weapons drawn and awaiting orders from their leader, while the Sotaki merely sighed in frustration and shook their heads in disappointment. Other then that, they watched the scene their leader was causing with a finely practiced indifference.

It seemed this was a common event.

On the other hand, Madara could only stare with wide, flashing crimson eyes as the _insane_ woman in front of him picked up another chess piece. A sneer slid across her lips as she chucked the piece at his face with all the power she could muster.

Which luckily wasn't much.

Still, even as Madara snatched the pawn that had come hurtling at his forehead from the air, he couldn't believe what was happening. He was too shocked to do anything other then protect his face from her assaults.

Muki began to wave her arms in a tantrum. "Bastard, bastard, bastard!" She screeched at him, grabbing her castle.

Was this woman actually attacking him in such a degrading manner as this!? Madara was at a loss for words as he yet again blocked the assault of another piece she was trying to hit him with.

Madara's eyes flashed murderously, his shock all but passed. He...was...pissed.

Izuna's eyebrows shot up as he watched the display before him, at first not knowing how to respond to this outburst of childish rage. It didn't last though. "Such raw emotion." He stated with a charming smile.

Ignoring Izuna for the first time that night, Muki grabbed the whole of the remaining pieces and board, preparing to throw that at Madara as well. She shot from her seat and came to a stand with the board held as high above her head as she could manage.

"I do believe we have found Madara's lifelong obligation." Neither of the generals comprehended the meaning of Izuna's words.

Madara was gone from his seat in a flash of blurred black as the sound and sight of glass could be seen shattering in the spot Madara had just moved from. The room was tense as the sound of glass meeting the floor subsided.

Muki stood at the table in a newly acquired silence, glaring at the now empty space across from her. The frown on her face told of her displeasure, but her silence was probably what gave the Uchiha their greatest indicator.

Other than the attempt at shattering a glass chess board over their leader's head that is.

The sound of gasping reached Izuna's ears and his keen senses immediately located the source. Izuna turned to see what had just happened, and frowned.

Madara was standing over the woman, his hands around her newly dressed neck, squeezing the life out of her. She was obviously in pain. Her legs were kicking wildly and her nails were clawing at his hands, drawing blood with each scratch.

Madara was giving her the darkest glare he possessed within his known arsenal of angry stare downs. The black spots in his eyes were swirling rapidly and the intense red of his sharingan was ablaze.

Not a good sign. Izuna shook his head a little before a small smile crept onto his lips.

Definitely better than theater.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Muki is so nuts that I'm not sure what to expect from her anymore. No wait, I do. I will eat Mr. Raccoon pie and then spit it out onto a silver spoon for you to see. Ha, ha, ha. Please review...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: It's been a while, but I'm finally back on. Let this twisted story continue!!! XD  


* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Eight: Twice the Charm...**

It had been two months since Madara had last seen _that_ woman, but the sting of her words still kept him up into the late hours of the nights following _that_ first meeting. It was really taking a toll on the young Uchiha leader.

The Uchiha counsel had made it their highest priority to avoid the mentioning of Sotaki Muki while in their leader's presence.

Even Izuna had been becoming worried for his dear elder brother.

At one point, Izuna had even began to question whether or not allowing his brother to come into contact with the Sotaki leader had been a wise move on his part. He quickly smashed that thought though.

It had been the only way to protect his brother from that woman. That woman's insanity went far beyond what the Uchiha could handle _as an enemy_.

Still, no matter how well his elder brother hid it, Izuna could see that Madara had been in a state of constant rage ever since that night.

And that is what most worried the younger Uchiha about his brother. That even after so long of a separation from the antics and taunting of the Sotaki leader, his brother still couldn't put that night behind him.

Madara had never held such contempt for so long after agreements and alliances had been established.

Then again, it had been the first time he hadn't been able to _kill_ the source of his irritation.

Immortal...who would have guessed?

However, the Uchiha and the Sotaki had come to agreed arrangements. While the Sotaki support the Uchiha with their wide range of trade systems, the Uchiha were to provide military force to aid the Sotaki when summoned.

Izuna looked up to his elder brother's still form seated upon the window seal, basking in the moonlight. His face was deeply absorbed in a state of perplexed thought.

It was now or never the younger Uchiha supposed.

Stealthily, Izuna made his way towards his elder brother. As he suspected though, Madara saw him coming even while in deep thought, and turned his head slightly to watch him approach from the side.

Silence was the first act of understanding to pass between the two Uchihas. Until Izuna smirked mischievously, placing a previously opened scroll before his brother.

Madara was about to inquire irritably as to why his younger brother had read the message directed to both of them without him being there to participate in the initial opening. He never got to though, because just as his lips parted to speak, Izuna gave a calm wave of his hand and disappeared into the folds of shadows.

Not wanting to face his brother's foreseeable wrath.

Madara took his brother's quick departure as a sign of things to come. They weren't good either from what Madara could tell.

Calmly, Madara opened the message scroll and read its content.

_To Lady Uchiha,_

Madara felt a twitch of his brow. Damn woman was back in his life it seemed.

_It has come to my attention that you have become increasingly inefficient in your ability to engage in warfare. As a newly acquired ally to my people, I cannot allow your monthly problems to cause such hindrance in the flow of progress. You are to report to the Weeping Meadows at sunset tomorrow for a meeting to discuss our first course of action as allies._

_I'll be bringing a few of my men to the meeting site, so please feel free to do so as well if you feel that such preparations are required on your part. However, Izuna is not to attend. I will also be leaving the Dick with the remainder of my men to protect my village._

_P.S. Bring a bottle of your finest wine._

_-Sotaki Muki_

Did this woman ever just write normal letters that didn't involve badmouthing him some way or another? And what was she talking about?

Monthly problems...The hell?

Madara felt his hands beginning to crumple the accursed paper before he could stop himself. Damn woman.

Why'd she have to be immortal!?

---

Kun looked out into the night, listening to his own steadily beating heart. His eyes watching intently as Muki left thought the gate of their village compound, a handful of men by her side.

She had told him to stay behind from this meeting.

She had told him that he was forbidden to follow her.

But his heart...was calling out to her.

His heart told him to follow her despite orders, but his own loyalty to the woman whom he wished to follow prevented him from doing so. It was tearing him apart.

Would those men be enough to protect her should the Uchiha Leader attack in rebellion against her cunning? It would be different this time.

Kun knew there were fates much worse than death, and though he knew Muki could take care of herself, he still couldn't stop worrying. He wasn't completely sure of what the Uchiha leader, Madara, was capable of.

And Izuna.

Kun felt his jaw clench at the thought of the Uchiha bastard. If Izuna had his way, Muki could be in real danger.

Muki was strong willed and brilliant in her own unique way yes, but with Izuna in the picture and himself not able to defend her, even Muki might not be enough to handle the Uchiha brothers.

She was still only human, and the Uchiha brothers were not to be taken lightly.

He knew of Muki's abilities as a manipulator. They were great and unmatched. She would do anything to insure the safety of her men, her people. Even go so far as to turn herself into a demon in the eyes of others.

His muscles were tense as her silhouette glowed in the moonlight. He felt his heart thump even harder as she stopped a few yards from the gate entrance. Slowly, she turned and watched him through the window, probably knowing he had been watching her.

Their eyes were locked. Both steady and set.

His hand tightened around the blade at his side, shaking.

She smiled at him then. That calm and innocent smile she gave him when she was sure of herself. It filled him with such warmth to now she trusted him enough to confide in him the deepest workings of her mind.

A true honor.

Her face never lost that smile as she turned away and disappeared into the shadows, her men close behind. A clear sign to him.

So she actually meant to leave him there and go through with her plans alone. She wasn't just trying to rattle his nerves and test at his limits like she usually did.

Still...he had a sneaking suspicion that she had more than one reason for leaving him behind.

Slowly. Very slowly. Kun rose from his seat by the window, having lost all interest in watching the outside now that Muki was gone from his sight.

He had some business to attend to...

Now that Muki was gone.

The dimly lit halls he walked down were cold and silent. He couldn't even hear the light echo of his foot steps on the slick tilt below, though he could see the white fan of his breath clearly. It was a ghostly world he was walking through. One he so favored.

Stealth had always been one of his stronger suits, and for this task, stealth would be the key component to the success of this task.

And he would not fail. The well being of his Muki and his position beside her was all hanging on the how effectively he could control the situation at hand.

He came to a stop at a door near the end of the hall. His eyes hardening as he looked up at the symbol above the doorway.

_He would protect Muki..._

His willowy fingers grasped the icy knob, turning it slowly. Without a sound.

_No one would threaten her position as the Sotaki's leader..._

His shadow fell silently through the open doorway, the moonlight shining vividly behind him. His sharp dark eyes shining in the likeness of a predator against his shadowed form.

The shine of his blade could be seen glinting mockingly in the still light, before the room was once again cast into shadow.

_Even if he had to become the thing she loathed..._

A flash of light slashing through the bleak nothingness, the gentle sound of dripping upon tiled floors.

_...And feared._

---

Madara could feel the cold winds blowing softly through his unruly hair, felt the wet moisture of the cool night air caressing at his pale face. Everything was so similar to the first time he'd met that woman.

But that had been two months ago.

Currently it was almost winter, and the snow capped mountains in the distance were a constant reminder of that. The sharp increase in cold, compared to that first time he held a meeting with this woman, was also a reminder of what time of the year it was.

Madara was not one to submit to the changing seasons though. He would carry on as he always had.

With an iron fist.

Madara felt his jaw tighten. Once again it was he who had arrived early, and not the one who had seen it fit to summon him. His shoulders tensed as another thought struck him.

Had he just admitted to being summoned by a _woman_? Unacceptable.

"My Lord." Madara turned a dead silent side glance to his subordinate. The man tensed under the icy stare of his superior but continued nonetheless. "I've received word that Muki Sotaki and her following have arrived."

Madara gave a curt nod, and with that the lower ranking Uchiha took his place among the rest of the Uchiha troops. Not wanting to unintentionally provoke the wrath of their leader.

Having been by Madara's side for so long on the battle field, it didn't take long for any of his men to realize when he was in a foul mood.

And that night, he was in an exceptionally bad way.

The faint glow of lantern lights could be seen in the far distance, and Madara intently watched them rise over the sloping hill and come closer. There didn't seem to be any hurrying on their part.

There was a few tense moments as the Sotaki leader came to a stop before Madara, looking up at him expectantly. Her hair was the same as he remembered, midnight black and wildly curled, but her hair wasn't what caught his eye.

Was she wearing her pajamas?

Madara gave her an impassive stare, but she must have sensed his displeasure because she wasted no time in responding. "Lady Uchiha, surely you do not intend to comfortably reside in that." She pointed towards his suit of red armor, a frown deeply embedded across her lips.

Madara twitched at the irony. "I am a man Lady Sotaki." Why was he even having this conversation again?

"Prove it then!" Muki challenged, crossing her arms firmly and glaring accusingly at the taller general. "Off with your pants."

Madara's men looked like they were about to have heart attacks.

"How am I to know if you are indeed a woman?" Madara questioned. Muki put her hand to her chin as if in thought, and Madara felt a surge of pride.

He was getting better at this it seemed.

"Well, given that you don't understand how to remove your clothing and I am now in the position to prove my own gender, then I will simply instruct you how." Madara's eyes widened.

She wouldn't!

Her fingers began to curl around the buckle loops of her pants.

No way.

Madara could only stand paralyzed in disbelief as the outrageous woman slipped out of her pants unabashed and held them up for him to see.

"Did you see how I did that? Now repeat the action yourself." She instructed with the upmost seriousness, flinging her pants over her shoulder and placing her hands on her hips.

Madara still hadn't moved.

She was mad...

"My Lady." One of her men finally said, a strained look on his face as he stared intently at the ground beneath his feet. "The man you requested for is here."

Muki smiled. "Send him over then Tiamaru!" She instructed, turning raised eyebrows to her underling. She looked liked more like an amused child than a half naked woman at that moment.

The man, Tiamaru, still didn't look up to his leader. "Would it not be wise for you to re-dress yourself my Lady." Muki was about to speak, but the man apparently hadn't finished yet. "You might catch chill."

Muki laughed lightly. "You are right." She began to put her pants back on. "I take it Kun instructed you to insure my well being then."

The man tensed, but nodded nonetheless. Muki shook her head at this. "Kun is such a funny guy, no?" She questioned no one in particular, probably not really expecting an answer either.

She didn't get one.

Tiamaru was gone within seconds of being dismissed, and with him gone, Muki turned her gaze to the Uchiha leader.

He still hadn't moved.

A look of irritation crossed her features. "Lady Uchiha." Madara seemed to finally get a hold of himself at this.

Then the sneer came. "Bitch."

Muki glared at him darkly. "My thoughts exactly."

---

Stiffly, Madara sat beside the Sotaki leader, loathing her with every fiber of his being as he did so. He imagined what it would feel like to watch the light fade from her eyes forever while her blood flowed through his fingers from the hilt of his sword.

What a glorious sight it would have been.

Had she been mortal that was.

He and the woman were seated on two mats, raised off the ground by a wide wooden platform, overlooking all those present. Candles lit the surrounding area in a cloak of dark secrecy, for the wind stood deadly still and the moon hid its pale face in the clouds above.

All the men, Sotaki and Uchiha, had created a near complete circle at the foot of the platform, allowing their leaders to watch over all. Particularly the man kneeling within the center of the circle, watching Muki with great anxiety, only ever averting his blue eyed gaze from her to discreetly watch the men gathered around him.

He was wary.

Madara turned his livid red eyes to the woman sitting casually beside him, her legs crossed in the manner a man would. She was smiling in seemingly innocent amusement as she stared bright eyed to the brown skinned man but a few yards away from her.

She laughed then, sweetly and lightly, and Madara felt his eyes slim. He did not like that laugh for it reminded him all too much of a young female child.

"Hiagami Rioto, it has been a long time." She cupped her cheeks in her palms and rested her elbows on her thighs, lazily watching the red haired man. Her brows rose expectantly at him.

The man tensed, but he nonetheless gave a response. "Indeed Lady Sotaki." He had a strong accent, one that reminded Madara faintly of rattling leaf in the autumn winds. He was undoubtedly from the northern most parts of the continent.

It seemed Muki got around more than just the Fire country.

"Lord Hiagami, I heard someone from your territory has hired a shinobi clan..." She smiled. "...to assassinate me and my council." The man gave her a disbelieving stare, though his blue eyes were calm. She saw his expression and shrugged a shoulder. "It is only a rumor yes, but this is something I can't ignore."

He watched her intently, searching her for something, anything that would give him a clue to what she was getting at. At least, that's what he seemed to be doing. He was shinobi after all.

Deceit was in his nature.

"Lady Sotaki." His throat sounded dry, and it was even more noticeable with the roughness of his accent. "You believe me to be that person?" His face remained still, but the tone of his voice told a different story.

Muki tilted her head. "Are you?"

Rioto remained motionless. "No." His eye contact with Muki never faltered.

"Good." A grin split her face, small and sinister. "So I guess it was your brother." Something in the way she said that sent a thorough chill down Madara's spine. "We'll just have to get rid of him."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**So what do you think about this chapter. I rather like it, but Muki's one crazy bugger, no? Especially the pants thing. Please review...  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**Author's Note: Sometimes I think this story is a little too twisted to have been written by me...then I remember exactly who I am. :)

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Nine: Undying Loyalty...

* * *

**

Rioto's eyes widened, his tight jawed face draining of all color despite the tanned complexion he possessed. His lips firmed into a line as if he were keeping his tongue at bay.

Madara watched in seeming impassiveness as Muki began to pull some various colored powders from her pockets, each marked with distinctive symbols.

Poisons.

Madara understood then. She intended to have this man assassinate his own brother for treason. His face shadowed over with deadly intent. Was she sending him some sort of warning?

His necks and shoulders tensed unnoticeably, but Muki probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. She was far too busy sorting the deadly powders into various classifications. Agonizingly slowly.

"My lady." Rioto's hushed voice spoke up after a moment of silence. "Why would my brother wish to plan your murder?" His eyes looked up at her with pleading questions.

At this, the woman merely shrugged her shoulders, starting to finger at the brightly colored strings keeping the bags sealed. Then she looked up, but not at the man. Her soft gaze immediately turned to Madara. "Lady Uchiha, did you know that Rioto's brother was known for his traitorous nature when he was younger?"

Madara's eyes slimmed. What was she getting at in asking him such things?

Wait! Had she called him a woman _again_?

A growl reverberated from the back of the Uchiha leader's throat, though Muki seemed too preoccupied to notice. Madara sent a death glare of intense malice towards the openly staring, and obviously shocked, man. That man instantly turned his gaze away, averting his eyes from that of the silently raging Uchiha before him.

The power difference between the two was massive, and Rioto didn't want to invoke the wrath of such a powerful and dangerous man as Uchiha Madara. Especially when he did not have his own forces to back him up should a fight ensue.

"There we go." Muki announced with a triumphant smirk, holding up a small, red colored sack for Madara to see. Madara looked at the small package lying in the palm of her hand, still silently seething in his own mounting rage. "Here you go Lord Hiagami. Just send me a message once the task is done." Muki smiled softly as she said all this, and that is probably what irked Madara the most.

She was so much like Izuna, and yet...

The man did not move, and from what Madara could sense, the man was in apparent shock. His nails were digging deeply into the ground before the mat he kneeled upon, scraping at the dirt there. His shoulders were tense and his face chalk white, blue eyes intently watching the poison Muki held within her grasp.

Yes. Definitely shock.

"My Lady." The man managed after a long silence. "I cannot." He bowed then, as low as his body would allow him to. "Please do not ask this of me. He is all I have now and I beg that you spare him. He is a good man and would never betray you Lady Sotaki." He did not raise his head from his hands, as he swore. "I swear this on my life."

Muki raised a brow and placed the red bag to the side, as if inspecting the Hiagami co-leader. "I take it you brought the wine?" The Sotaki leader inquired of Madara, giving him an expectant glance.

Madara frowned, but never broke eye contact with Muki as he reached his hand out to his men and grabbed the bottle that was placed in it seconds later. He handed the bottle over to the woman and remained silent.

Keenly silent. Like a wary predator assessing its newest target. Watching and observing her every move with keen interest.

Bloodlust.

Nonchalantly, she began to finger at the remaining poison containing bags, moving aside those she had little to no interest in. Until she found the one she was looking for.

It was a tad bit smaller than the previous she'd had, and this one was an almost snowy white, with a bold, black circle on its curved side.

It reminded Madara vaguely of the white circle of salt once used to protect travelers from malicious devil spirits in the folklore of old. However, the representation of the circle being black probably was an altered meaning to the circle's purpose. So now this black circle was to symbolize death rather than protection.

Madara's eyes slimmed knowingly. So this woman believed in the devil.

Madara watched her pour the wine into a small glass and then add the poison, taking great care to get every last bit of the substance into the deadly cocktail. Slowly, she began mixing it, causing the glass and spoon to ting rhythmically against one another until the white-gray powder dissolved into the liquids completely.

Curiously, Muki took the still dripping spoon from the glass and sniffed it, as if inspecting its quality. A smile crossed her lips. "Good wine I must say Lady Uchiha. It would appear that you do have some tastes after all."

Madara tensed and glared down coldly at the woman sitting cross legged beside him. "Bitch."

Muki frowned up at him, giving him a decently dark glare of her own. However, it didn't hold the same weight as Madara's and that is probably what made it less noticeable to those witnessing the two.

"I thought you didn't drink _Muki_." At this, Muki turned a childish glare on her troops, eyeing one soldier in particular. That same soldier just smirked knowingly and gave a small huff of amusement. "Isn't it against your policies to get yourself wasted or something?"

Muki smiled at the man, completely ignoring the presences of everyone else around her. "If you must know Sasuku..."

"So it isn't." The same man interrupted, causing Muki so pout and frown simultaneously.

Tiamaru elbowed Sasuku in the side, sending him a silent sideward warning glare. Apparently, whatever meaning had been behind that glare, the other understood and immediately silenced himself, though that smirk never left his lips.

"You don't need to drink wine to know its good. Kun told me that one tastes with their nose before they taste with their tongue." The man frowned, but said nothing against this.

It seemed Muki had won _that one_.

Madara cast a glance to Tiamaru, taking in his full appearance for the first time. Copper colored hair pulled into a low ponytail that did not quite reach his shoulder blades, honey colored skin from a recent tan, and a pair of mature, brown eyes. Most notably though, was a scar running down the side of his neck onto his back, though it was mostly covered by his clothes and armor.

A battle wound perhaps. Madara paid it little mind, since such injuries were not rare, and merely shifted his gaze to the man beside Tiamaru, Sasuku.

Sasuku was of a taller build than Tiamaru, but he was also thinner and less defined in his muscle structure, much like the body of a teenage boy. Short, silvery hair that was apparently unkempt and an almost pale complexion, though the light spray of freckles over his nose gave it a slightly darker quality. His eyes were of the brightest blue, like ice water under the sun.

Madara then looked over all the remaining soldiers, taking in their appearances, and found that they were all very different from each other. Lacking the similar traits that most clans use to distinguish themselves from other peoples.

It seemed that the Sotaki clan was not as tightly based in their ancestry as the Uchiha, Madara concluded.

Dark eyes flickered back to Muki, slimming ominously. What kind of clan was this?

That was something Madara needed to discover, and soon.

"How rude of us." Muki suddenly announced, once again taking up the deadly cocktail and giving Rioto a small, apologetic smile. "We completely forgot you were there for a moment. My sincerest apologies."

With that said, Muki pulled a small black cloth from her side pocket, wiping any excess powder from the glasses smooth rim. She did it slowly and deliberately, as if the action had been memorized into practiced ease.

The cloth was black this time, Madara noticed with a forming frown, not white like in their first encounter, and she was far too precise in her actions.

She had done this before. It seemed to perfect, too practiced, for someone of Muki's character. It hadn't taken long for Madara to understand that Muki was not one to partake in the practice of such behavior while in her natural state of being.

The Uchiha leader's cold eyes followed as one of Muki's subordinates took the drink from his leader's hands and brought it before the Hiagami leader. Despite the appearances put up, that very Sotaki follower had felt a cold chill run the length of their spine when they'd felt the frigid hostility of the Uchiha leader's sharp eyes upon them.

If the reaper ever chose a successor, no doubt Uchiha Madara would be his first choice.

Muki poured another glass of the thick, richly brewed wine and gave Madara a smile. Wicked and sinister, resembling a smirk if anything. "A toast to our allegiance Lady Uchiha." Madara sneered silently at the reminder of their signed pledge and at the woman's serious issues with gender recognition. The Sotaki leader noticed his sneer and frowned. "It wasn't I who suggested this alliance." Muki put the glass near his hand, gesturing for him to take it. "It would seem neither of us had much choice in the matter." Madara glared down at the cup suspiciously.

Maybe it was somehow poisoned while he was distracted, Madara pondered darkly with malice.

Then a better thought came to mind and the Uchiha entertained it for a brief moment. Madara's sharp edged gaze rested on the woman's face, sick amusement.

Maybe he could slip some of the poison into her glass.

He took the glass, examining its contents. He sensed nothing dangerous about the contents, but he being who he was, was wary.

This woman...

Could she really be trusted?

Muki relaxed into a gentle smile, and took a glass of water her subordinate holding out to her. "A toast to the alliance of the Sotaki, the Uchiha, and the Hiagami." Madara was almost convinced of the seemingly sweet smile that graced her lips.

The Hiagami leader's eyes were wide and unsteady as he took the glass into his hands, staring unseeingly into the last glass of wine to ever touch his lips.

Muki raised her glass. "To undying loyalty."

---

That woman!

Madara still couldn't seem to get the memory of what the woman had done that night out of his head. It was still so vividly clear. Even after two weeks.

To pull something such as that on an ally.

His eyes narrowed at the memory.

When the Hiagami leader, Rioto, had downed the glass in one go, obviously wanting to end his life quickly and as painlessly as possible, _nothing had happened_.

As Muki later explained, Madara recalled she'd been laughing as she did so. Rioto had made the right choice in being willing to take his own life instead of betraying his brother to save himself when he'd known his brother had been innocent.

At first Madara had only thought she'd done this to test the man's loyalty to her, but as he further studied the Hiagami clan's co-leaders, he'd learned that Rioto's brother was the more competent of the two. Meaning, that Rioto was not only putting his brother's life at stake should he have decided to betray him, but also the fate of his clan.

But even after all that, she had gone even farther.

As she also explained, while the cup of poisoned wine given to Rioto had been mixed with the antidote beforehand, the original poison that had been intended for Rioto's brother had been diluted severely and was not potent enough to be fatal. At most it would have given Rioto's brother a high fever for a few days.

Meaning, Rioto had never been in and danger at all and had Rioto chosen to take the life of his brother knowing that he was innocent, he'd have been labeled for treason and executed as a traitor.

So in the end, the outcome was decided by the extent of Rioto's loyalty to his clan and to his allies, the Sotaki.

Muki was either very clever, or a damn sadistic. Either way, Madara was beginning to understand why his brother had been so compelled, desperate even, to forge an alliance with the Sotaki the moment an opportunity had presented itself.

The woman was ruthless...

Her tactics of manipulation reckless and unpredictable.

The Uchiha leader was pacing across his room with long, tense strides, hand under his chin, deep in thought. He had to learn all he could of the background of this woman and her clan as soon as possible.

He had already read every recorded document on the Sotaki's known battles, their preferred battle tactics, and alliances. And in doing this, he learned that the Sotaki made alliances with nearly every and any clan they defeated or defended in battle and that they never initiated the wars they entered. However, their battle strategies only ever had one common trait.

They always took the safest path.

Perhaps that is what first caught Madara's attention when he began to study the way this woman went into a battle.

She was always so cautious...

With the lives of her men.

A dark shadow fell over the lighted area of the floor at Madara's feet, lit by the sunlight pouring in through the open window. A shadow Madara ignored for the most part.

Until the person spoke.

"Always sulking about that woman." Came the smooth, taunting voice which caused Madara's pacing to come to a sudden stop. "Dear brother." Same placid smile as always. "She is not as invincible as you make her out to be. In fact..." The younger Uchiha had jumped down from the window seal, making himself comfortable on his elder brother's bed, his eyes closed in amusement. "The situation is quite the contrary."

What...

Madara had immediately taken an interest as to what his brother had to say at those words, turning to meet his brother, face to face. His glowing red eyes were made all the more menacing in the shadow of his dark room.

Izuna noticed his brother's sudden interest. He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at his elder brother smugly, just waiting.

Izuna finally got the response he had been looking for when Madara spoke, calm and controlled. "Hn. You believe I have overestimated the woman?" There was a look of dark suspicion in the Uchiha leader's eyes, and it did not go unnoticed by Izuna.

Izuna smiled good-naturedly at his brother as he folded his arms and shook his head lightly. "No, you have not, but..." The serious, intense look the younger Uchiha gave Madara right then commanded the Uchiha leader's attention as only Izuna was capable. "Do not let her drag you into her game."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**I don't know why, but I just love writing about mental manipulation and crazy, perverse people. So what do you think about Madara? I'm still relatively new at writing about him, so I hope I'm getting him in character despite Muki's forced invasion on his pride and such. Please review...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: My flash-drive was stolen and I don't have Internet on my home computer, so my updates will be very, very slow and irregular. **_**(As if they weren't enough already…)**_

**Author's Note: Well, before you read the chapter I just wanted to tell you that my friends and I put Muki through the Mary Sue Test. **_**Can you guess what she scored**_**!….19. Yes, Sotaki Muki scored a 19 and I swear my mouth dropped. I could have sworn she would've scored a 30 or a 40 AT THE LEAST! I had to take it twice just to make sure I had the numbers right and hadn't missed any questions.

* * *

**

**Wicked Hearts**

**Chapter Ten: Likewise...

* * *

**

After a two month long trip to the western territories to reestablish her contract with the clans she'd made alliances with there, Muki had finally made it to the gates of her village.

The joy she felt when she looked down into the smiling faces of the people she'd sworn to protect would be short lived though, for there was one face she did not see.

A very important one.

News had swept swiftly through the Sotaki village that a high-ranking member of the counsel had not been present to greet their leader at the gate when she returned. So as expected, a shinobi was sent to discover the whereabouts of the missing elder.

A well-trusted shinobi.

Muki paced her room in hurried steps, a look of complete devastation across her grief stricken features. She was tense and her teeth had managed to break the skin of the finger she was nervously biting.

Where was Tyuko?

Her mind was racing frantically for an answer and her heart lurched in her chest at the thought of losing one of her people. The blood from her newly inflicted wound tasted bitter, for it had mixed with the trace amount of poison that had managed to get under her nails the night she had been with the Uchiha leader, but she ignored it.

Kun watched with expressionless black eyes as his leader continued to walk about the room in aimless anxiety, the monotonous features of his face unreadable. His heart was in a very different predicament however.

He knew what was to come.

He knew what had had to be done.

The shinobi who entered the room kneeled before his leader, his eyes downcast. "Elder Tyuko Sotaki has been found dead Lady Sotaki." It was Tiamaru who was to give his leader the news. "I am most sorry for the loss." He wasn't sincere though, for Tiamaru was all too aware of why the man was dead.

His and Kun's eyes locked briefly, an understanding. Muki missed the exchange, but even had she seen it, she wouldn't have known what to make of it.

The sound of a strained choke, then another.

Kun immediately turned to Muki, only to find her standing rigidly still in the center of the room, the shuddering of her shoulders her only visible movement. Her face was pulled into an expression of unparalleled shock.

Kun's eyes slimmed at the sight, knowing what was about to happen.

It killed him to know this couldn't have been avoided.

Muki's eyes widened, beginning to shine distinctively at the rims, and her lips tightened into a thin line, quivering with the effort to hold them steady.

_Muki's greatest weakness..._

Tiamaru took his leave as the sound of his leader hitting the floor echoed through the halls and the hurried steps of Kun rushing to her side quickly followed. Then came a heart-wrenching scream.

The first of many to come.

Ah yes. Patience was a trait of any good shinobi.

Now Madara was not the most patient of men, but when necessary, he was indeed renowned for his talents of waiting.

But this…

"Uchiha Madara-sama?" A small, round man inquired of the Uchiha with his shrill accent, visibly flinching when the intense red eyes glanced at him with cold indifference. The heavy man cleared his throat before continuing with an almost sickening enthusiasm. "We've heard that you are in league with the Sotaki." The overbearing smell of foreign tobacco hit Madara full on as the man leaned in a bit as if to tell a secret. "I heard their clan leader is a woman. Is she beautiful?"

Madara's shoulders had tensed at the reminder; his jaw taut and his eyes flickered with some unspeakable emotion that could have been something akin to hatred. None of which was visible on his features. He was silent.

All to be seen was cool apathy.

The bulky man, blissfully unaware of the Uchiha leader's distain, continued on with his annotations, beginning to explain useless rumors of the clan Madara already knew about. When Madara only raised a thin brow at the remarks, the man misinterpreted the gesture as the go ahead to continue.

Madara's expression remained impassive throughout the entirety of the other man's blabbing of the Sotaki's prowess and exceptional reputation throughout the great clans of the lands. He even endured the scent of heavily manufactured soap and sweat, which nearly burned his nostrils. He even managed to remain stoic when a small stream of brown colored spit escaped the other's unrelenting mouth and landed unceremoniously on the front of the man's robe.

Yes, Madara remained in control, but only because he knew that was what had to be done for his plan to come to fruition.

Oh, what he must endure.

At any other time in the past, Madara would have lashed out at the nauseating man for such offense. However, even as the image of the man's tongue being cut from his mouth entered his mind, he was consumed by an even more profound vision…

_The taunting visual of that Sotaki bitch mocking him for his shortcomings should he fail_.

He'd never allow the bitch the satisfaction of learning of such failure _of any kind_ on his part. He would much rather burn this entire fortress to the ground before he'd allowed such reports to reach her ears, and with connections like hers, it wouldn't take long for her to receive the news.

Madara had come to learn that her power…

Lay within the power of her allies and her ability to keep their loyalty.

"Oh yes!" The man had yet to cease his babbling, and Madara paid him little mind. "I've also heard it told that they are actually foreign to these lands." Madara's eyes bore down on the smaller man then, new interest in the topic evident even to this unusually dense individual.

_What did he just say about the Sotaki?_

"Foreign?" Madara was not known for having many words to tell, but he never needed many to communicate his thoughts with even the dullest of people.

"Yes." The man immediately perked up at the perceptible approval the much-admired man seemed to have taken in his knowledge. "It is said that they originally resided in lands far from here, across the sea. I don't know how far, but it must be a ways out there. Where they come from exactly, no one knows, but there are rumors as to why they decided to come here." Madara listened in silence.

Why couldn't the man just get to the point?

Indeed, the man talked too much, but Madara tolerated it for the sake of his goal and the new information he was acquiring. He even tolerated the spit that once again escaped his mouth and landed on the table. "I'm not exactly sure what to believe, but I heard that their leader was actually the daughter of a powerful emperor who exiled her." His shrill voice had heightened in emphasis and then lowered dramatically and moved right up to Madara's comfort zone. "For falling in love with the son of his enemy." Madara had to restrain from strangling the other and managed to hold back as the other pulled away in expiration. "Then she and the son eloped and took a division of the man's army with them."

It was all lies, and Madara knew that.

Had there been any truth behind those assumptions, the Sotaki soldiers would be following under Kun, not Muki. And it was obvious Muki was the one who held the greatest sway over the Sotaki's military.

So this man had yet again become useless to him.

Losing interest in what the other was saying, Madara went back to plotting his next move on the pathetic little land he was currently staying at…and revenge against the obnoxious, waste of air of a man beside him for _clandestinely_ convincing the Feudal Lord to significantly lower the price he'd pay the Uchiha to go to war for him.

He'd pummel the useless little man into the ground.

* * *

Hitorio Sampachi…

That was the name of the Land of Lilies Feudal lord's closest advisor and dearest friend, a man now heading towards the executioner's deadly embrace under the conviction of murdering the Feudal Lord's son, and the very man whom Madara had talked to no more than a week earlier.

It had all been very simple once the plan had been set in motion.

First, Madara had won the trust of Hitorio Sampachi and then surreptitiously kidnapped the Feudal Lord's son from his bedchambers.

The Feudal lord had been suspicious of the Uchiha about the disappearance of his son, but had no evidence with which to accuse the clan outright.

After chaos had flooded the palace since the heir to the throne had gone missing, the Uchiha had managed to secretly insight a riot among the oppressed peasants, with a _slip of information_ about the sudden unstable conditions of the ruling family.

Having come to the land in secrecy, no one but the Lord and his posse knew of the Uchiha's stay, and the Uchiha easily put down the peasant rebellion.

Many farmers had been killed in the process and not one advisor noticed that the homes of the dead had been looted, as detached from the general public as they were.

The feudal lord was in the Uchiha's debt, but the Uchiha leader refused to be given reward for their efforts. The Uchiha had gotten more from their plunder than what the Feudal lord was offering them anyway.

It appeared to the people in the high courts of the Land of Lilies that the Uchiha were truly virtuous men.

The Uchiha had further managed to win over the trust of not only Hitorio and the Lord's advisers, but the Feudal lord as well. But with his son still missing, the Feudal lord was ready to behead anyone who so much as acted suspicious in connection with the crime.

Everyone in the land was desperate to find the culprit/s before they themselves became subject to their Lord's anger, and the punishment that would follow.

That was what Madara had been counting on.

Madara convinced Hitorio that he knew the location of the missing heir from reports they'd gotten and that he should share in the reward of his return. Being as susceptible as he was, Hitorio believed in the Uchiha's words and followed without question, sure that he would receive his just reward from the _noble Uchiha leader_.

Little had Hitorio known that the other of the Lord's _advisors,_ who had also followed him underground to the chambers the air was supposedly being held in, as assurance of his innocence, were actually Uchiha shinobi in disguise…And that the same message of the discovered location of the Feudal Lord's son had been sent to the Feudal Lord himself.

He had not seen the sickly smile that graced the Uchiha leader's smooth lips.

It had been dark down in the chambers. Hitorio had not questioned it when Madara placed a dagger in his hand and given him the _honor_ of freeing young heir himself as any noble hero would. He did not see the knowing glint in the Uchiha's arrogant eyes. Nor had he noticed the sudden absence of the Uchiha and _other advisors_ who had accompanied him down there.

When the light suddenly shone upon him just moments later, he had been standing alone, next to a corpse whose neck had recently been slit, with a bloodied dagger in his hand.

Needless to say, the dagger he'd been holding was a weapon specifically designed by the very clan the Uchiha had been arranging negotiations with the Feudal lord to wage war against.

So not only was Hitorio a murderer now, but a traitor as well.

It only took a few assured words from cruel lips and one unwavering accusation to throw the Lord to near madness and unbending wrath. Blind fury.

…The Feudal lord was willing to pay the Uchiha anything to get revenge on the clan who'd allegedly ordered his son's assassination.

Madara looked up as Hitorio was dragged across the courtyard, gagged and struggling against his captors. His bulk swayed to and fro as he attempted to pull away from the two guards dragging him to the executioner's block. Madara found the sight unpleasantly distasteful but amusing at the same time.

Revenge.

The Uchiha leader's impassive expression never swayed as Hitorio was forced to his knees before the black hooded executioner, his head being shoved onto the small, steel table in the center of the courtyard.

Heartless.

A secret smirk crossed over Madara's face as the katana blade was lifted high above the executioner's head, poised to end Hitorio's life. Its blade shining in the sunlight, and hilt steady.

Tears were streaming down Hitorio's face in the shame and bitter injustice of it all, salty liquid sliding from his blood-shot eyes and across his bruised skin to pool on the table below him.

The Uchiha's smooth lips curled further in dark amusement.

The Uchiha had won.

A faint, chilling wind graced the scorched land as cold fingers gripped the katana blade.

The blade came down, a flash of blinding silver in the sunlight, and not a sound was heard. A quick, soundless death that would pass through the memories of those attending as the years passed.

Finally, the silence Madara had been waiting for.

Madara was…

Pleased.

* * *

_**There are times in the lives of leaders that they must realize that their clans are not the only people to inhabit the piece of soil fondly referred to as earth.**_

_**In life, no one will have the answer to everything and no one can always rely on force to take what is needed to save themselves.**_

_**There are times in life when one cannot fight the effect of change on their own, and needs someone by their side that can protect them from their own faults.**_

_**That is why alliances are formed.**_

_**-Sotaki Muki

* * *

**_

_**Without the support of the clan one cannot hold power, for true power is only as valid as the support of those who follow under you.**_

_**Without a powerful leader to lead the clan there is no stability within it for outsiders will always threaten that clan's purity, and thereby, its existence.**_

_**Associations with other clans are an undeniable necessity, but one must never forget that it is the clan that comes foremost.**_

_**That is why leaders are chosen.**_

_**-Uchiha Madara

* * *

**_

_**To see that which must be done, clarity is the key to understanding, but one cannot rip the clouds away from the sky.**_

_**Time is a precious concept that allows for the understanding of the importance of it when it's passed from the body.**_

_**Time is only so patient as to come around once, and when it comes, one must be able to understand it.**_

_**That is why one must understand time.**_

_**-Uchiha Izuna

* * *

**_

_**The blood and the flesh of ones body is no more important than the weapon one uses to protect those one follows.**_

_**It is the undying loyalty to a cause and its leader that must never be questioned by the lips of their subordinates.**_

_**It is in the service to that cause that one is truly given the reason to fulfill their leader's unspoken desires and ensure their own purpose.**_

_**That is why loyalty to the leader's cause is essential.**_

_**-Sotaki Kun

* * *

**_

**Author's Note**

**Madara is so twisted sometimes. What more has to be said? It would seem that Muki is not as almighty as she may appear. So what do you think about Muki's weakness in contrast to Madara's strengths? Please review…**

**Note to all those waiting for lemons: There will be some _later_ in the story, but I might drop a few scenes here and there just to torment everyone. However, be warned that I am a yaoi fan and am not against putting such things in this story, given its nature as you'll find out soon enough. LOL!**


End file.
